Stor Admin2

Storage Administration
Guide
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3
Storage Administration Guide
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3
Provides information about how to manage storage devices on a SUSE Linux Enter-
prise Server.
Publication Date: June 13, 2018
SUSE LLC
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held liable for possible errors or the consequences thereof.
Contents
About This Guide xii
I FILE SYSTEMS AND MOUNTING 1
1 Overview of File Systems in Linux 2

1.1 Terminology 3
1.2 Btrfs 3
Key Features 4 • The Root File System Setup on SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server 4 • Migration from Ext and ReiserFS File Systems
to Btrfs 9 • Btrfs Administration 10 • Btrfs Quota Support for
Subvolumes 10 • Btrfs send/receive 11 • Data Deduplication
Support 15
1.3 XFS 16
High Scalability by Using Allocation Groups 16 • High Performance through
Efficient Management of Disk Space 16 • Preallocation to Avoid File System
Fragmentation 17
1.4 Ext2 17
1.5 Ext3 18
Easy and Highly Reliable Upgrades from Ext2 18 • Reliability and
Performance 19 • Converting an Ext2 File System into Ext3 19 • Ext3
File System Inode Size and Number of Inodes 20
1.6 Ext4 24
1.7 ReiserFS 24
1.8 Other Supported File Systems 25
1.9 Large File Support in Linux 26
1.10 Linux Kernel Storage Limitations 28
iii Storage Administration Guide

1.11 Troubleshooting File Systems 28
Btrfs Error: No space is left on device 28 • Freeing Unused File System
Blocks 30
1.12 Additional Information 31
2 Resizing File Systems 32

2.1 Use Cases 32
2.2 Guidelines for Resizing 32

File Systems that Support Resizing 33 • Increasing the Size of a File
System 33 • Decreasing the Size of a File System 34
2.3 Changing the Size of a Btrfs File System 34
2.4 Changing the Size of an XFS File System 35
2.5 Changing the Size of an Ext2, Ext3, or Ext4 File System 36
2.6 Changing the Size of a Reiser File System 37
3 Using UUIDs to Mount Devices 38

3.1 Persistent Device Names with udev 38
3.2 Understanding UUIDs 38
4 Multi-tier Caching for Block Device Operations 40

4.1 General Terminology 40
4.2 Caching Modes 41
4.3 bcache 42
Main Features 42 • Setting Up a bcache Device 42 • bcache
Configuration Using sysfs 44
4.4 lvmcache 44
Configuring lvmcache 44 • Removing a Cache Pool 46
iv Storage Administration Guide

II LOGICAL VOLUMES (LVM) 48
5 LVM Configuration 49
5.1 Understanding the Logical Volume Manager 49
5.2 Creating Volume Groups 51
5.3 Creating Logical Volumes 54

Thinly Provisioned Logical Volumes 58 • Creating Mirrored Volumes 59
5.4 Automatically Activating Non-Root LVM Volume Groups 60
5.5 Resizing an Existing Volume Group 61
5.6 Resizing a Logical Volume 62
5.7 Deleting a Volume Group or a Logical Volume 64
5.8 Using LVM Commands 65

Resizing a Logical Volume with Commands 68 • Dynamic Aggregation of LVM
Metadata via lvmetad 70 • Using LVM Cache Volumes 71
5.9 Tagging LVM2 Storage Objects 72

Using LVM2 Tags 72 • Requirements for Creating LVM2
Tags 73 • Command Line Tag Syntax 73 • Configuration
File Syntax 74 • Using Tags for a Simple Activation Control in a
Cluster 75 • Using Tags to Activate On Preferred Hosts in a Cluster 76
6 LVM Volume Snapshots 79

6.1 Understanding Volume Snapshots 79
6.2 Creating Linux Snapshots with LVM 81
6.3 Monitoring a Snapshot 81
6.4 Deleting Linux Snapshots 82
6.5 Using Snapshots for Virtual Machines on a Virtual Host 82
6.6 Merging a Snapshot with the Source Logical Volume to Revert Changes
or Roll Back to a Previous State 84
v Storage Administration Guide

III SOFTWARE RAID 87
7 Software RAID Configuration 88

7.1 Understanding RAID Levels 88
RAID 0 88 • RAID 1 89 • RAID 2 and
RAID 3 89 • RAID 4 89 • RAID 5 89 • RAID 6 90 • Nested and
Complex RAID Levels 90
7.2 Soft RAID Configuration with YaST 90

RAID Names 93
7.3 Troubleshooting Software RAIDs 94

Recovery after Failing Disk is Back Again 94
7.4 For More Information 95
8 Configuring Software RAID for the Root Partition 96

8.1 Prerequisites for Using a Software RAID Device for the Root
Partition 96
8.2 Setting Up the System with a Software RAID Device for the Root (/)
Partition 97
9 Creating Software RAID 10 Devices 101

9.1 Creating Nested RAID 10 Devices with mdadm 101
Creating Nested RAID 10 (1+0) with mdadm 102 • Creating Nested RAID 10
(0+1) with mdadm 104
9.2 Creating a Complex RAID 10 106

Number of Devices and Replicas in the Complex
RAID 10 107 • Layout 108 • Creating a Complex RAID 10 with the YaST
Partitioner 110 • Creating a Complex RAID 10 with mdadm 113
10 Creating a Degraded RAID Array 116
11 Resizing Software RAID Arrays with mdadm 118

11.1 Increasing the Size of a Software RAID 119
Increasing the Size of Component Partitions 120 • Increasing the Size of the
RAID Array 121 • Increasing the Size of the File System 122
vi Storage Administration Guide

11.2 Decreasing the Size of a Software RAID 123
Decreasing the Size of the File System 123 • Decreasing the Size of the RAID
Array 123 • Decreasing the Size of Component Partitions 124
12 Storage Enclosure LED Utilities for MD Software

RAIDs 127
12.1 The Storage Enclosure LED Monitor Service 128
12.2 The Storage Enclosure LED Control Application 129

Pattern Names 130 • List of Devices 133 • Examples 134
IV NETWORK STORAGE 135
13 iSNS for Linux 136

13.1 How iSNS Works 136
13.2 Installing iSNS Server for Linux 138
13.3 Configuring iSNS Discovery Domains 140

Creating iSNS Discovery Domains 140 • Adding iSCSI Nodes to a Discovery
Domain 141
13.4 Starting the iSNS Service 143
13.5 For More Information 143
14 Mass Storage over IP Networks: iSCSI 144

14.1 Installing the iSCSI LIO Target Server and iSCSI Initiator 145
14.2 Setting Up an iSCSI LIO Target Server 146

iSCSI LIO Target Service Start-up and Firewall Settings 146 • Configuring
Authentication for Discovery of iSCSI LIO Targets and
Initiators 147 • Preparing the Storage Space 149 • Setting Up an iSCSI LIO
Target Group 150 • Modifying an iSCSI LIO Target Group 154 • Deleting an
iSCSI LIO Target Group 154
vii Storage Administration Guide

14.3 Configuring iSCSI Initiator 155
Using YaST for the iSCSI Initiator Configuration 155 • Setting Up the iSCSI
Initiator Manually 158 • The iSCSI Initiator Databases 159
14.4 Using iSCSI Disks when Installing 161
14.5 Troubleshooting iSCSI 161

Portal Error When Setting Up Target LUNs on an iSCSI LIO Target
Server 161 • iSCSI LIO Targets Are Not Visible from Other
Computers 162 • Data Packets Dropped for iSCSI Traffic 162 • Using iSCSI
Volumes with LVM 162 • iSCSI Targets Are Mounted When the Configuration
File Is Set to Manual 163
14.6 iSCSI LIO Target Terminology 163
15 Fibre Channel Storage over Ethernet Networks:

FCoE 166
15.1 Configuring FCoE Interfaces during the Installation 167
15.2 Installing FCoE and the YaST FCoE Client 168
15.3 Managing FCoE Services with YaST 169
15.4 Configuring FCoE with Commands 172
15.5 Managing FCoE Instances with the FCoE Administration Tool 173
16 NVMe over Fabric 177

16.1 Overview 177
16.2 Setting Up an NVMe over Fabric Host 177

Installing Command Line Client 177 • Discovering NVMe
over Fabric Targets 178 • Connecting to NVMe over Fabric
Targets 178 • Multipathing 179
viii Storage Administration Guide

16.3 Setting Up an NVMe over Fabric Target 179
Installing Command Line Client 179 • Configuration Steps 179 • Back Up
and Restore Target Configuration 181
16.4 Special Hardware Configuration 182

Overview 182 • Broadcom 182
16.5 More Information 182
17 Managing Multipath I/O for Devices 183

17.1 Understanding Multipath I/O 183
17.2 Hardware Support 183

Storage Arrays That Are Automatically Detected for Multipathing 184 • Tested
Storage Arrays for Multipathing Support 186 • Storage Arrays that Require
Specific Hardware Handlers 187
17.3 Planning for Multipathing 187

Prerequisites 187 • Disk Management Tasks 188 • Software
RAIDs 188 • High-Availability Solutions 189 • Always Keep the initrd in
Synchronization with the System Configuration 189
17.4 Multipath Management Tools 189

Device Mapper Multipath Module 190 • Multipath I/O Management
Tools 192 • Using MDADM for Multipathed Devices 193 • The multipath
Command 193 • The mpathpersist Utility 196
17.5 Configuring the System for Multipathing 197

Enabling, Disabling, Starting and Stopping Multipath I/O
Services 197 • Preparing SAN Devices for Multipathing 198 • Partitioning
Multipath Devices 199
17.6 Creating or Modifying the /etc/multipath.conf File 200

Creating the /etc/multipath.conf File 200 • Sections in the /etc/
multipath.conf File 201 • Verifying the Multipath Setup in the /etc/
multipath.conf File 202 • Applying the /etc/multipath.conf File Changes to
Update the Multipath Maps 204 • Generating a WWID 205
17.7 Configuring Default Policies for Polling, Queuing, and Failback 205
ix Storage Administration Guide

17.8 Blacklisting Non-Multipath Devices 207
17.9 Configuring User-Friendly Names or Alias Names 210

Multipath Device Names in HA Clusters 215
17.10 Configuring Path Failover Policies and Priorities 216

Configuring the Path Failover Policies 216 • Configuring Failover
Priorities 217 • Reporting Target Path Groups 224
17.11 Configuring Multipath I/O for the Root Device 225

Enabling Multipath I/O at Install Time 225 • Enabling Multipath I/O for an
Existing Root Device 228 • Disabling Multipath I/O on the Root Device 228
17.12 Configuring Multipath I/O for an Existing Software RAID 228
17.13 Using LVM2 on Multipath Devices 231
17.14 Best Practice 232

Scanning for New Devices without Rebooting 232 • Scanning for New
Partitioned Devices without Rebooting 233 • Viewing Multipath I/
O Status 235 • Managing I/O in Error Situations 237 • Resolving
Stalled I/O 238 • Configuring Default Settings for IBM z Systems
Devices 239 • Using Multipath with NetApp Devices 239 • Using --noflush
with Multipath Devices 240 • SAN Timeout Settings When the Root Device Is
Multipathed 240
17.15 Troubleshooting MPIO 241

The System Exits to Emergency Shell at Boot When Multipath Is
Enabled 241 • PRIO Settings for Individual Devices Fail After Upgrading
to Multipath 0.4.9 or Later 244 • PRIO Settings with Arguments Fail After
Upgrading to multipath-tools-0.4.9 or Later 244 • Technical Information
Documents 245
18 Managing Access Control Lists over NFSv4 246

A Documentation Updates 247
A.1 June 2018 247
A.2 December 2017 (Maintenance Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

12 SP3) 248
x Storage Administration Guide

A.3 September 2017 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
SP3) 248
A.4 April 2017 (Maintenance Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

SP2) 249
A.5 November 2016 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

SP2) 250
A.6 December 2015 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12

SP1) 251
A.7 February 2015 (Documentation Maintenance Update) 253
A.8 October 2014 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12) 255
B GNU Licenses 258

B.1 GNU Free Documentation License 258
xi Storage Administration Guide

About This Guide
This guide provides information about how to manage storage devices on SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 12 SP3. For information about partitioning and managing devices, see Book “Deployment
Guide”, Chapter 12 “Advanced Disk Setup”. This guide is intended for system administrators.
1 Available Documentation
Note: Online Documentation and Latest Updates

Documentation for our products is available at http://www.suse.com/documentation/ ,
where you can also nd the latest updates, and browse or download the documentation
in various formats.
In addition, the product documentation is usually available in your installed system under /
usr/share/doc/manual .
The following documentation is available for this product:
Article “Installation Quick Start”

Lists the system requirements and guides you step-by-step through the installation of SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server from DVD, or from an ISO image.
Book “Deployment Guide”

Shows how to install single or multiple systems and how to exploit the product inher-
ent capabilities for a deployment infrastructure. Choose from various approaches, ranging
from a local installation or a network installation server to a mass deployment using a
remote-controlled, highly-customized, and automated installation technique.
Book “Administration Guide”

Covers system administration tasks like maintaining, monitoring and customizing an ini-
tially installed system.
Book “Virtualization Guide”

Describes virtualization technology in general, and introduces libvirt—the unified inter-
face to virtualization—and detailed information on specific hypervisors.
xii Available Documentation SLES 12 SP3

Storage Administration Guide
Provides information about how to manage storage devices on a SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server.
Book “AutoYaST”
AutoYaST is a system for unattended mass deployment SUSE Linux Enterprise Server sys-
tems using an AutoYaST profile containing installation and configuration data. The man-
ual guides you through the basic steps of auto-installation: preparation, installation, and
configuration.
Book “Security Guide”

Introduces basic concepts of system security, covering both local and network security
aspects. Shows how to use the product inherent security software like AppArmor or the
auditing system that reliably collects information about any security-relevant events.
Book “Security and Hardening Guide”

Deals with the particulars of installing and setting up a secure SUSE Linux Enterprise Serv-
er, and additional post-installation processes required to further secure and harden that
installation. Supports the administrator with security-related choices and decisions.
Book “System Analysis and Tuning Guide”

An administrator's guide for problem detection, resolution and optimization. Find how to
inspect and optimize your system by means of monitoring tools and how to efficiently
manage resources. Also contains an overview of common problems and solutions and of
additional help and documentation resources.
Book “Subscription Management Tool for SLES 12 SP3”

An administrator's guide to Subscription Management Tool—a proxy system for SUSE Cus-
tomer Center with repository and registration targets. Learn how to install and configure a
local SMT server, mirror and manage repositories, manage client machines, and configure
clients to use SMT.
Book “GNOME User Guide”

Introduces the GNOME desktop of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. It guides you through
using and configuring the desktop and helps you perform key tasks. It is intended mainly
for end users who want to make efficient use of GNOME as their default desktop.
xiii Available Documentation SLES 12 SP3

2 Feedback
Several feedback channels are available:
Bugs and Enhancement Requests

For services and support options available for your product, refer to http://www.suse.com/
support/ .
Help for openSUSE is provided by the community. Refer to https://en.opensuse.org/Por-
tal:Support for more information.
To report bugs for a product component, go to https://scc.suse.com/support/requests ,
log in, and click Create New.
User Comments
We want to hear your comments about and suggestions for this manual and the other doc-
umentation included with this product. Use the User Comments feature at the bottom of
each page in the online documentation or go to http://www.suse.com/documentation/feed-
back.html and enter your comments there.
Mail
For feedback on the documentation of this product, you can also send a mail to doc-
team@suse.com . Make sure to include the document title, the product version and the
publication date of the documentation. To report errors or suggest enhancements, provide
a concise description of the problem and refer to the respective section number and page
(or URL).
3 Documentation Conventions
The following notices and typographical conventions are used in this documentation:
/etc/passwd : directory names and le names
PLACEHOLDER : replace PLACEHOLDER with the actual value
PATH : the environment variable PATH
ls , --help : commands, options, and parameters
user : users or groups
xiv Feedback SLES 12 SP3

package name : name of a package
Alt , Alt – F1 : a key to press or a key combination; keys are shown in uppercase as on
a keyboard
File, File Save As: menu items, buttons
x86_64 This paragraph is only relevant for the AMD64/Intel 64 architecture. The arrows
mark the beginning and the end of the text block.
System z, POWER This paragraph is only relevant for the architectures z Systems and
POWER . The arrows mark the beginning and the end of the text block.
Dancing Penguins (Chapter Penguins, ↑Another Manual): This is a reference to a chapter in

another manual.
Commands that must be run with root privileges. Often you can also prefix these com-
mands with the sudo command to run them as non-privileged user.
root # command
tux > sudo command
Commands that can be run by non-privileged users.
tux > command
Notices
Warning: Warning Notice

Vital information you must be aware of before proceeding. Warns you about security
issues, potential loss of data, damage to hardware, or physical hazards.
Important: Important Notice

Important information you should be aware of before proceeding.
Note: Note Notice

Additional information, for example about differences in software versions.
xv Documentation Conventions SLES 12 SP3

Tip: Tip Notice
Helpful information, like a guideline or a piece of practical advice.
xvi Documentation Conventions SLES 12 SP3

I File Systems and Mounting
1 Overview of File Systems in Linux 2
2 Resizing File Systems 32
3 Using UUIDs to Mount Devices 38
4 Multi-tier Caching for Block Device Operations 40

1 Overview of File Systems in Linux
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server ships with different le systems from which to
choose, including Btrfs, Ext4, Ext3, Ext2, ReiserFS and XFS. Each le system has its
own advantages and disadvantages. For a side-by-side feature comparison of the
major operating systems in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, see http://www.suse.com/
products/server/technical-information/#FileSystem (File System Support and Sizes).
This chapter contains an overview of how these le systems work and what advan-
tages they offer.
With SUSE Linux Enterprise 12, Btrfs is the default le system for the operating system and XFS
is the default for all other use cases. SUSE also continues to support the Ext family of le systems,
ReiserFS and OCFS2. By default, the Btrfs le system will be set up with subvolumes. Snapshots
will be automatically enabled for the root le system using the snapper infrastructure. For more
information about snapper, refer to Book “Administration Guide”, Chapter 7 “System Recovery and
Snapshot Management with Snapper”.
Professional high-performance setups might require a highly available storage system. To meet
the requirements of high-performance clustering scenarios, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server in-
cludes OCFS2 (Oracle Cluster File System 2) and the Distributed Replicated Block Device (DRBD)
in the High Availability Extension add-on. These advanced storage systems are not covered in
this guide. For information, see the SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension Administra-
tion Guide at http://www.suse.com/doc .
It is very important to remember that no le system best suits all kinds of applications. Each
le system has its particular strengths and weaknesses, which must be taken into account. In
addition, even the most sophisticated le system cannot replace a reasonable backup strategy.
The terms data integrity and data consistency, when used in this section, do not refer to the
consistency of the user space data (the data your application writes to its les). Whether this
data is consistent must be controlled by the application itself.
Unless stated otherwise in this section, all the steps required to set up or change partitions and
le systems can be performed by using the YaST Partitioner (which is also strongly recommend-
ed). For information, see Book “Deployment Guide”, Chapter 12 “Advanced Disk Setup”.
2 SLES 12 SP3
1.1 Terminology
metadata
A data structure that is internal to the le system. It ensures that all of the on-disk data
is properly organized and accessible. Essentially, it is “data about the data.” Almost every
le system has its own structure of metadata, which is one reason the le systems show
different performance characteristics. It is extremely important to maintain metadata in-
tact, because otherwise all data on the le system could become inaccessible.
inode
A data structure on a le system that contains a variety of information about a le, includ-
ing size, number of links, pointers to the disk blocks where the le contents are actually
stored, and date and time of creation, modification, and access.
journal
In the context of a le system, a journal is an on-disk structure containing a type of log
in which the le system stores what it is about to change in the le system’s metadata.
Journaling greatly reduces the recovery time of a le system because it has no need for
the lengthy search process that checks the entire le system at system start-up. Instead,
only the journal is replayed.
1.2 Btrfs
Btrfs is a copy-on-write (COW) le system developed by Chris Mason. It is based on COW-friendly
B-trees developed by Ohad Rodeh. Btrfs is a logging-style le system. Instead of journaling the
block changes, it writes them in a new location, then links the change in. Until the last write,
the new changes are not committed.
3 Terminology SLES 12 SP3

1.2.1 Key Features
Btrfs provides fault tolerance, repair, and easy management features, such as the following:
Writable snapshots that allow you to easily roll back your system if needed after applying
updates, or to back up les.
Subvolume support: Btrfs creates a default subvolume in its assigned pool of space. It allows
you to create additional subvolumes that act as individual le systems within the same
pool of space. The number of subvolumes is limited only by the space allocated to the pool.
The online check and repair functionality scrub is available as part of the Btrfs command
line tools. It verifies the integrity of data and metadata, assuming the tree structure is ne.
You can run scrub periodically on a mounted le system; it runs as a background process
during normal operation.
Different RAID levels for metadata and user data.
Different checksums for metadata and user data to improve error detection.
Integration with Linux Logical Volume Manager (LVM) storage objects.
Integration with the YaST Partitioner and AutoYaST on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. This
also includes creating a Btrfs le system on Multiple Devices (MD) and Device Mapper
(DM) storage configurations.
Offline migration from existing Ext2, Ext3, and Ext4 le systems.
Boot loader support for /boot , allowing to boot from a Btrfs partition.
Multivolume Btrfs is supported in RAID0, RAID1, and RAID10 profiles in SUSE Linux En-
terprise Server 12 SP3. Higher RAID levels are not supported yet, but might be enabled
with a future service pack.
Use Btrfs commands to set up transparent compression.
1.2.2 The Root File System Setup on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
By default, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is set up using Btrfs and snapshots for the root parti-
tion. Snapshots allow you to easily roll back your system if needed after applying updates, or
to back up les. Snapshots can easily be managed with the SUSE Snapper infrastructure as ex-
4 Key Features SLES 12 SP3

plained in Book “Administration Guide”, Chapter 7 “System Recovery and Snapshot Management with
Snapper”. For general information about the SUSE Snapper project, see the Snapper Portal wiki
at OpenSUSE.org (http://snapper.io ).
When using a snapshot to roll back the system, it must be ensured that data such as user's home
directories, Web and FTP server contents or log les do not get lost or overwritten during a roll
back. This is achieved by using Btrfs subvolumes on the root le system. Subvolumes can be
excluded from snapshots. The default root le system setup on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as
proposed by YaST during the installation contains the following subvolumes. They are excluded
from snapshots for the reasons given below.
/boot/grub2/i386-pc , /boot/grub2/x86_64-efi , /boot/grub2/powerpc-ieee1275 , /

boot/grub2/s390x-emu
A rollback of the boot loader configuration is not supported. The directories listed above
are architecture-specific. The rst two directories are present on AMD64/Intel 64 ma-
chines, the latter two on IBM POWER and on IBM z Systems, respectively.
/home
If /home does not reside on a separate partition, it is excluded to avoid data loss on roll-
backs.
/opt , /var/opt
Third-party products usually get installed to /opt . It is excluded to avoid uninstalling
these applications on rollbacks.
/srv
Contains data for Web and FTP servers. It is excluded to avoid data loss on rollbacks.
/tmp , /var/tmp , /var/cache , /var/crash

All directories containing temporary les and caches are excluded from snapshots.
/usr/local
This directory is used when manually installing software. It is excluded to avoid unin-
stalling these installations on rollbacks.
/var/lib/libvirt/images
The default location for virtual machine images managed with libvirt. Excluded to ensure
virtual machine images are not replaced with older versions during a rollback. By default,
this subvolume is created with the option no copy on write .
/var/lib/mailman , /var/spool
5 The Root File System Setup on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server SLES 12 SP3
Directories containing mails or mail queues are excluded to avoid a loss of mails after a
rollback.
/var/lib/named
Contains zone data for the DNS server. Excluded from snapshots to ensure a name server
can operate after a rollback.
/var/lib/mariadb , /var/lib/mysql , /var/lib/pgqsl

These directories contain database data. By default, these subvolumes are created with the
option no copy on write .
/var/log
Log le location. Excluded from snapshots to allow log le analysis after the rollback of
a broken system.
Warning: Support for Rollbacks

Rollbacks are only supported by the SUSE support if you do not remove any of the pre-
configured subvolumes. You may, however, add additional subvolumes using the YaST
Partitioner.
1.2.2.1 Mounting Compressed Btrfs File Systems
Note: GRUB 2 and LZO Compressed Root

GRUB 2 cannot read an lzo compressed root. You need a separate /boot partition to
use compression.
Since SLE12 SP1, compression for Btrfs le systems is supported. Use the compress or com-
press-force option and select the compression algorithm, lzo or zlib (the default). The zlib
compression has a higher compression ratio while lzo is faster and takes less CPU load.
For example:
root # mount -o compress /dev/sdx /mnt
In case you create a le, write to it, and the compressed result is greater or equal to the uncom-
pressed size, Btrfs will skip compression for future write operations forever for this le. If you
do not like this behavior, use the compress-force option. This can be useful for les that have
some initial uncompressible data.
Note, compression takes effect for new les only. Files that were written without compression
are not compressed when the le system is mounted with the compress or compress-force
option. Furthermore, les with the nodatacow attribute never get their extents compressed:
root # chattr +C FILE

root # mount -o nodatacow /dev/sdx /mnt
In regard to encryption, this is independent from any compression. After you have written some
data to this partition, print the details:
root # btrfs filesystem show /mnt

btrfs filesystem show /mnt
Label: 'Test-Btrfs' uuid: 62f0c378-e93e-4aa1-9532-93c6b780749d
Total devices 1 FS bytes used 3.22MiB
devid 1 size 2.00GiB used 240.62MiB path /dev/sdb1
If you want this to be permanent, add the compress or compress-force option into the /
etc/fstab configuration le. For example:
UUID=1a2b3c4d /home btrfs subvol=@/home,compress 0 0
1.2.2.2 Mounting Subvolumes
A system rollback from a snapshot on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is performed by booting
from the snapshot rst. This allows you to check the snapshot while running before doing the
rollback. Being able to boot from snapshots is achieved by mounting the subvolumes (which
would normally not be necessary).
In addition to the subvolumes listed in Section 1.2.2, “The Root File System Setup on SUSE Linux En-
terprise Server” a volume named @ exists. This is the default subvolume that will be mounted as
the root partition ( / ). The other subvolumes will be mounted into this volume.
When booting from a snapshot, not the @ subvolume will be used, but rather the snapshot. The
parts of the le system included in the snapshot will be mounted read-only as / . The other
subvolumes will be mounted writable into the snapshot. This state is temporary by default: the
previous configuration will be restored with the next reboot. To make it permanent, execute the
snapper rollback command. This will make the snapshot that is currently booted the new
default subvolume, which will be used after a reboot.
1.2.2.3 Checking for Free Space
File system usage is usually checked by running the df command. On a Btrfs le system, the
output of df can be misleading, because in addition to the space the raw data allocates, a Btrfs
le system also allocates and uses space for metadata.
Consequently a Btrfs le system may report being out of space even though it seems that plenty
of space is still available. In that case, all space allocated for the metadata is used up. Use the
following commands to check for used and available space on a Btrfs le system:
btrfs filesystem show
tux > sudo btrfs filesystem show /

Label: 'ROOT' uuid: 52011c5e-5711-42d8-8c50-718a005ec4b3
Total devices 1 FS bytes used 10.02GiB
devid 1 size 20.02GiB used 13.78GiB path /dev/sda3
Shows the total size of the le system and its usage. If these two values in the last line
match, all space on the le system has been allocated.
btrfs filesystem df
tux > sudo btrfs filesystem df /

Data, single: total=13.00GiB, used=9.61GiB
System, single: total=32.00MiB, used=16.00KiB
Metadata, single: total=768.00MiB, used=421.36MiB
GlobalReserve, single: total=144.00MiB, used=0.00B
Shows values for allocated ( total ) and used space of the le system. If the values for
total and used for the metadata are almost equal, all space for metadata has been
allocated.
btrfs filesystem usage
tux > sudo btrfs filesystem usage /

Overall:
Device size: 20.02GiB
Device allocated: 13.78GiB
Device unallocated: 6.24GiB
Device missing: 0.00B
Used: 10.02GiB
Free (estimated): 9.63GiB (min: 9.63GiB)
Data ratio: 1.00
Metadata ratio: 1.00
Global reserve: 144.00MiB (used: 0.00B)
Data Metadata System

Id Path single single single Unallocated
-- --------- -------- --------- -------- -----------
1 /dev/sda3 13.00GiB 768.00MiB 32.00MiB 6.24GiB
-- --------- -------- --------- -------- -----------
Total 13.00GiB 768.00MiB 32.00MiB 6.24GiB
Used 9.61GiB 421.36MiB 16.00KiB
Shows data similar to that of the two previous commands combined.
For more information refer to man 8 btrfs-filesystem and https://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org/in-

dex.php/FAQ .
1.2.3 Migration from Ext and ReiserFS File Systems to Btrfs

You can migrate data volumes from existing Ext (Ext2, Ext3, or Ext4) or ReiserFS to the Btrfs
le system. The conversion process occurs offline and in place on the device. The le system
needs at least 15% of available free space on the device.
To convert the le system to Btrfs, take the le system offline, then enter:
sudo btrfs-convert DEVICE
To roll back the migration to the original le system, take the le system offline, then enter:
sudo btrfs-convert -r DEVICE
Warning: Root File System Conversion not

Supported
Converting the root le system to Btrfs is not supported. Either keep the existing le
system or re-install the whole system from scratch.
9 Migration from Ext and ReiserFS File Systems to Btrfs SLES 12 SP3
Important: Possible Loss of Data
When rolling back to the original le system, all data will be lost that you added after
the conversion to Btrfs. That is, only the original data is converted back to the previous
le system.
1.2.4 Btrfs Administration

Btrfs is integrated in the YaST Partitioner and AutoYaST. It is available during the installation
to allow you to set up a solution for the root le system. You can use the YaST Partitioner after
the installation to view and manage Btrfs volumes.
Btrfs administration tools are provided in the btrfsprogs package. For information about using
Btrfs commands, see the man 8 btrfs , man 8 btrfsck , and man 8 mkfs.btrfs commands.
For information about Btrfs features, see the Btrfs wiki at http://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org .
1.2.5 Btrfs Quota Support for Subvolumes

The Btrfs root le system subvolumes /var/log , /var/crash and /var/cache can use all of
the available disk space during normal operation, and cause a system malfunction. To help avoid
this situation, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server now offers Btrfs quota support for subvolumes. If
you set up the root le system by using the respective YaST proposal, it is prepared accordingly:
quota groups ( qgroup ) for all subvolumes are already set up. To set a quota for a subvolume
in the root le system, proceed as follows:
1. Enable quota support:
sudo btrfs quota enable /
2. Get a list of subvolumes:
sudo btrfs subvolume list /
Quotas can only be set for existing subvolumes.
3. Set a quota for one of the subvolumes that was listed in the previous step. A subvolume
can either be identified by path (for example /var/tmp ) or by 0/SUBVOLUME ID (for
example 0/272 ). The following example sets a quota of ve GB for /var/tmp .
10 Btrfs Administration SLES 12 SP3

sudo btrfs qgroup limit 5G /var/tmp
The size can either be specified in bytes (5000000000), kilobytes (5000000K), megabytes
(5000M), or gigabytes (5G). The resulting values in bytes slightly differ, since 1024 Bytes
= 1 KiB, 1024 KiB = 1 MiB, etc.
4. To list the existing quotas, use the following command. The column max_rfer shows the
quota in bytes.
sudo btrfs qgroup show -r /
Tip: Nullifying a Quota

In case you want to nullify an existing quota, set a quota size of none :
sudo btrfs qgroup limit none /var/tmp
To disable quota support for a partition and all its subvolumes, use btrfs quota dis-
able :
sudo btrfs quota disable /
See the man 8 btrfs-qgroup and man 8 btrfs-quota for more details. The UseCases page
on the Btrfs wiki (https://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/UseCases ) also provides more infor-
mation.
1.2.6 Btrfs send/receive

Btrfs allows to make snapshots to capture the state of the le system. Snapper, for example, uses
this feature to create snapshots before and after system changes, allowing a rollback. However,
together with the send/receive feature, snapshots can also be used to create and maintain copies
of a le system in a remote location. This feature can, for example, be used to do incremental
backups.
A btrfs send operation calculates the difference between two read-only snapshots from the
same subvolume and sends it to a le or to STDOUT. A Btrfs receive operation takes the
result of the send command and applies it to a snapshot.
11 Btrfs send/receive SLES 12 SP3

1.2.6.1 Prerequisites
To use Btrfs's send/receive feature, the following requirements need to be met:
A Btrfs le system is required on the source side ( send ) and on the target side ( receive ).
Btrfs send/receive operates on snapshots, therefore the respective data needs to reside in
a Btrfs subvolume.
Snapshots on the source side need to be read-only.
SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 SP2 or better. Earlier versions of SUSE Linux Enterprise do not
support send/receive.
1.2.6.2 Incremental Backups
The following procedure shows the basic usage of Btrfs send/receive using the example of cre-
ating incremental backups of /data (source side) in /backup/data (target side). /data needs
to be a subvolume.
PROCEDURE 1.1: INITIAL SETUP
1. Create the initial snapshot (called snapshot_0 in this example) on the source side and
make sure it is written to the disk:
sudo btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /data /data/bkp_data

sync
A new subvolume /data/bkp_data is created. It will be used as the basis for the next
incremental backup and should be kept as a reference.
2. Send the initial snapshot to the target side. Since this is the initial send/receive operation,
the complete snapshot needs to be sent:
sudo bash -c 'btrfs send /data/bkp_data | btrfs receive /backup'
A new subvolume /backup/bkp_data is created on the target side.

When the initial setup has been finished, you can create incremental backups and send the
differences between the current and previous snapshots to the target side. The procedure is
always the same:
1. Create a new snapshot on the source side.
2. Send the differences to the target side.
3. Optional: Rename and/or clean up snapshots on both sides.
PROCEDURE 1.2: PERFORMING AN INCREMENTAL BACKUP
1. Create a new snapshot on the source side and make sure it is written to the disk. In the
following example the snapshot is named bkp_data_ CURRENT_DATE :
sudo btrfs subvolume snapshot -r /data /data/bkp_data_$(date +%F)

sync
A new subvolume, for example /data/bkp_data_2016-07-07 , is created.
2. Send the difference between the previous snapshot and the one you have created to
the target side. This is achieved by specifying the previous snapshot with the option -
p SNAPSHOT .
sudo bash -c 'btrfs send -p /data/bkp_data /data/bkp_data_2016-07-07 \

| btrfs receive /backup'
A new subvolume /backup/bkp_data_2016-07-07 is created.
3. As a result four snapshots, two on each side, exist:
/data/bkp_data
/data/bkp_data_2016-07-07
/backup/bkp_data
/backup/bkp_data_2016-07-07

Now you have three options for how to proceed:
Keep all snapshots on both sides. With this option you can roll back to any snapshot
on both sides while having all data duplicated at the same time. No further action
is required. When doing the next incremental backup, keep in mind to use the next-
to-last snapshot as parent for the send operation.
Only keep the last snapshot on the source side and all snapshots on the target side.
Also allows to roll back to any snapshot on both sides—to do a rollback to a specific
snapshot on the source side, perform a send/receive operation of a complete snapshot
from the target side to the source side. Do a delete/move operation on the source
side.
Only keep the last snapshot on both sides. This way you have a backup on the target
side that represents the state of the last snapshot made on the source side. It is not
possible to roll back to other snapshots. Do a delete/move operation on the source
and the target side.
a. To only keep the last snapshot on the source side, perform the following commands:
sudo btrfs subvolume delete /data/bkp_data

sudo mv /data/bkp_data_2016-07-07 /data/bkp_data
The rst command will delete the previous snapshot, the second command renames
the current snapshot to /data/bkp_data . This ensures that the last snapshot that
was backed up is always named /data/bkp_data . As a consequence, you can also
always use this subvolume name as a parent for the incremental send operation.
b. To only keep the last snapshot on the target side, perform the following commands:
sudo btrfs subvolume delete /backup/bkp_data

sudo mv /backup/bkp_data_2016-07-07 /backup/bkp_data
The rst command will delete the previous backup snapshot, the second command
renames the current backup snapshot to /backup/bkp_data . This ensures that the
latest backup snapshot is always named /backup/bkp_data .

Tip: Sending to a Remote Target Side
To send the snapshots to a remote machine, use SSH:
btrfs send /data/bkp_data | ssh root@jupiter.example.com 'btrfs receive /backup'
1.2.7 Data Deduplication Support

Btrfs supports data deduplication by replacing identical blocks in the le system with logical
links to a single copy of the block in a common storage location. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
provides the tool duperemove for scanning the le system for identical blocks. When used on
a Btrfs le system, it can also be used to deduplicate these blocks. duperemove is not installed
by default. To make it available, install the package duperemove .
Note: Use Cases

As of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 duperemove is not suited to deduplicate the
entire le system. It is intended to be used to deduplicate a set of 10 to 50 large les that
possibly have lots of blocks in common, such as virtual machine images.
duperemove can either operate on a list of les or recursively scan a directory:
sudo duperemove OPTIONS file1 file2 file3

sudo duperemove -r OPTIONS directory
It operates in two modes: read-only and de-duping. When run in read-only mode (that is without
the -d switch), it scans the given les or directories for duplicated blocks and prints them. This
works on any le system.
Running duperemove in de-duping mode is only supported on Btrfs le systems. After having
scanned the given les or directories, the duplicated blocks will be submitted for deduplication.
For more information see man 8 duperemove .
15 Data Deduplication Support SLES 12 SP3

1.3 XFS
Originally intended as the le system for their IRIX OS, SGI started XFS development in the early
1990s. The idea behind XFS was to create a high-performance 64-bit journaling le system to
meet extreme computing challenges. XFS is very good at manipulating large les and performs
well on high-end hardware. XFS is the default le system for data partitions in SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server.
A quick review of XFS’s key features explains why it might prove to be a strong competitor for
other journaling le systems in high-end computing.
1.3.1 High Scalability by Using Allocation Groups

At the creation time of an XFS le system, the block device underlying the le system is divided
into eight or more linear regions of equal size. Those are called allocation groups. Each allocation
group manages its own inodes and free disk space. Practically, allocation groups can be seen
as le systems in a le system. Because allocation groups are rather independent of each other,
more than one of them can be addressed by the kernel simultaneously. This feature is the key to
XFS’s great scalability. Naturally, the concept of independent allocation groups suits the needs
of multiprocessor systems.
1.3.2 High Performance through Efficient Management of Disk

Space
Free space and inodes are handled by B+ trees inside the allocation groups. The use of B+ trees
greatly contributes to XFS’s performance and scalability. XFS uses delayed allocation, which han-
dles allocation by breaking the process into two pieces. A pending transaction is stored in RAM
and the appropriate amount of space is reserved. XFS still does not decide where exactly (in le
system blocks) the data should be stored. This decision is delayed until the last possible moment.
Some short-lived temporary data might never make its way to disk, because it is obsolete by the
time XFS decides where actually to save it. In this way, XFS increases write performance and re-
duces le system fragmentation. Because delayed allocation results in less frequent write events
than in other le systems, it is likely that data loss after a crash during a write is more severe.
16 XFS SLES 12 SP3

1.3.3 Preallocation to Avoid File System Fragmentation
Before writing the data to the le system, XFS reserves (preallocates) the free space needed for
a le. Thus, le system fragmentation is greatly reduced. Performance is increased because the
contents of a le are not distributed all over the le system.
Note: The new XFS On-disk Format

Starting with version 12, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server supports the new “on-disk format”
(v5) of the XFS le system. XFS le systems created by YaST will use this new format.
The main advantages of this format are automatic checksums of all XFS metadata, le
type support, and support for a larger number of access control lists for a le.
Note that this format is not supported by SUSE Linux Enterprise kernels older than version
3.12, by xfsprogs older than version 3.2.0, and GRUB 2 versions released before SUSE
Linux Enterprise 12. This will be problematic if the le system should also be used from
systems not meeting these prerequisites.
If you require interoperability of the XFS le system with older SUSE systems or other
Linux distributions, format the le system manually using the mkfs.xfs command. This
will create an XFS le system in the old format (unless you use the -m crc=1 option).
1.4 Ext2
The origins of Ext2 go back to the early days of Linux history. Its predecessor, the Extended File
System, was implemented in April 1992 and integrated in Linux 0.96c. The Extended File System
underwent several modifications and, as Ext2, became the most popular Linux le system for
years. With the creation of journaling le systems and their short recovery times, Ext2 became
less important.
A brief summary of Ext2’s strengths might help understand why it was—and in some areas still
is—the favorite Linux le system of many Linux users.
Solidity and Speed

Being an “old-timer”, Ext2 underwent many improvements and was heavily tested. This
might be the reason people often refer to it as rock-solid. After a system outage when the
le system could not be cleanly unmounted, e2fsck starts to analyze the le system data.
Metadata is brought into a consistent state and pending les or data blocks are written to
17 Preallocation to Avoid File System Fragmentation SLES 12 SP3

a designated directory (called lost+found ). In contrast to journaling le systems, e2fsck
analyzes the entire le system and not only the recently modified bits of metadata. This
takes significantly longer than checking the log data of a journaling le system. Depending
on le system size, this procedure can take half an hour or more. Therefore, it is not
desirable to choose Ext2 for any server that needs high availability. However, because
Ext2 does not maintain a journal and uses less memory, it is sometimes faster than other
le systems.
Easy Upgradability
Because Ext3 is based on the Ext2 code and shares its on-disk format and its metadata
format, upgrades from Ext2 to Ext3 are very easy.
1.5 Ext3
Ext3 was designed by Stephen Tweedie. Unlike all other next-generation le systems, Ext3 does
not follow a completely new design principle. It is based on Ext2. These two le systems are
very closely related to each other. An Ext3 le system can be easily built on top of an Ext2 le
system. The most important difference between Ext2 and Ext3 is that Ext3 supports journaling.
In summary, Ext3 has three major advantages to offer:
1.5.1 Easy and Highly Reliable Upgrades from Ext2

The code for Ext2 is the strong foundation on which Ext3 could become a highly acclaimed
next-generation le system. Its reliability and solidity are elegantly combined in Ext3 with the
advantages of a journaling le system. Unlike transitions to other journaling le systems, such
as ReiserFS or XFS, which can be quite tedious (making backups of the entire le system and re-
creating it from scratch), a transition to Ext3 is a matter of minutes. It is also very safe, because
re-creating an entire le system from scratch might not work flawlessly. Considering the number
of existing Ext2 systems that await an upgrade to a journaling le system, you can easily see
why Ext3 might be of some importance to many system administrators. Downgrading from Ext3
to Ext2 is as easy as the upgrade. Perform a clean unmount of the Ext3 le system and remount
it as an Ext2 le system.
18 Ext3 SLES 12 SP3

1.5.2 Reliability and Performance
Some other journaling le systems follow the “metadata-only” journaling approach. This means
your metadata is always kept in a consistent state, but this cannot be automatically guaranteed
for the le system data itself. Ext3 is designed to take care of both metadata and data. The degree
of “care” can be customized. Enabling Ext3 in the data=journal mode offers maximum security
(data integrity), but can slow down the system because both metadata and data are journaled.
A relatively new approach is to use the data=ordered mode, which ensures both data and
metadata integrity, but uses journaling only for metadata. The le system driver collects all data
blocks that correspond to one metadata update. These data blocks are written to disk before
the metadata is updated. As a result, consistency is achieved for metadata and data without
sacrificing performance. A third option to use is data=writeback , which allows data to be
written to the main le system after its metadata has been committed to the journal. This option
is often considered the best in performance. It can, however, allow old data to reappear in
les after crash and recovery while internal le system integrity is maintained. Ext3 uses the
data=ordered option as the default.
1.5.3 Converting an Ext2 File System into Ext3

To convert an Ext2 le system to Ext3:
1. Create an Ext3 journal by running tune2fs -j as the root user.

This creates an Ext3 journal with the default parameters.
To specify how large the journal should be and on which device it should reside, run
tune2fs -J instead together with the desired journal options size= and device= . More
information about the tune2fs program is available in the tune2fs man page.
2. Edit the le /etc/fstab as the root user to change the le system type specified for the
corresponding partition from ext2 to ext3 , then save the changes.
This ensures that the Ext3 le system is recognized as such. The change takes effect after
the next reboot.
3. To boot a root le system that is set up as an Ext3 partition, add the modules ext3 and
jbd in the initrd . Do so by
a. adding the following line to /etc/dracut.conf.d/01-dist.conf :
force_drivers+="ext3 jbd"
19 Reliability and Performance SLES 12 SP3

b. and running the dracut -f command.
4. Reboot the system.
1.5.4 Ext3 File System Inode Size and Number of Inodes

An inode stores information about the le and its block location in the le system. To allow
space in the inode for extended attributes and ACLs, the default inode size for Ext3 was increased
from 128 bytes on SLES 10 to 256 bytes on SLES 11. As compared to SLES 10, when you make a
new Ext3 le system on SLES 11, the default amount of space preallocated for the same number
of inodes is doubled, and the usable space for les in the le system is reduced by that amount.
Thus, you must use larger partitions to accommodate the same number of inodes and les than
were possible for an Ext3 le system on SLES 10.
When you create a new Ext3 le system, the space in the inode table is preallocated for the total
number of inodes that can be created. The bytes-per-inode ratio and the size of the le system
determine how many inodes are possible. When the le system is made, an inode is created for
every bytes-per-inode bytes of space:
number of inodes = total size of the file system divided by the number of bytes per inode
The number of inodes controls the number of les you can have in the le system: one inode for
each le. To address the increased inode size and reduced usable space available, the default for
the bytes-per-inode ratio was increased from 8192 bytes on SLES 10 to 16384 bytes on SLES 11.
The doubled ratio means that the number of les that can be created is one-half of the number
of les possible for an Ext3 le system on SLES 10.
Important: Changing the Inode Size of an Existing

Ext3 File System
After the inodes are allocated, you cannot change the settings for the inode size or bytes-
per-inode ratio. No new inodes are possible without re-creating the le system with dif-
ferent settings, or unless the le system gets extended. When you exceed the maximum
number of inodes, no new les can be created on the le system until some les are
deleted.
20 Ext3 File System Inode Size and Number of Inodes SLES 12 SP3
When you make a new Ext3 le system, you can specify the inode size and bytes-per-inode ratio
to control inode space usage and the number of les possible on the le system. If the blocks
size, inode size, and bytes-per-inode ratio values are not specified, the default values in the /
etc/mked2fs.conf le are applied. For information, see the mke2fs.conf(5) man page.
Use the following guidelines:
Inode size: The default inode size is 256 bytes. Specify a value in bytes that is a power
of 2 and equal to 128 or larger in bytes and up to the block size, such as 128, 256, 512,
and so on. Use 128 bytes only if you do not use extended attributes or ACLs on your Ext3
le systems.
Bytes-per-inode ratio: The default bytes-per-inode ratio is 16384 bytes. Valid bytes-per-
inode ratio values must be a power of 2 equal to 1024 or greater in bytes, such as 1024,
2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, and so on. This value should not be smaller than the
block size of the le system, because the block size is the smallest chunk of space used to
store data. The default block size for the Ext3 le system is 4 KB.
In addition, you should consider the number of les and the size of les you need to store.
For example, if your le system will have many small les, you can specify a smaller bytes-
per-inode ratio, which increases the number of inodes. If your le system will have very
large les, you can specify a larger bytes-per-inode ratio, which reduces the number of
possible inodes.
Generally, it is better to have too many inodes than to run out of them. If you have too
few inodes and very small les, you could reach the maximum number of les on a disk
that is practically empty. If you have too many inodes and very large les, you might have
free space reported but be unable to use it because you cannot create new les in space
reserved for inodes.
If you do not use extended attributes or ACLs on your Ext3 le systems, you can restore the
SLES 10 behavior specifying 128 bytes as the inode size and 8192 bytes as the bytes-per-inode
ratio when you make the le system. Use any of the following methods to set the inode size
and bytes-per-inode ratio:
Modifying the default settings for all new Ext3 files: In a text editor, modify the defaults
section of the /etc/mke2fs.conf le to set the inode_size and inode_ratio to the
desired default values. The values apply to all new Ext3 le systems. For example:
blocksize = 4096
inode_size = 128
inode_ratio = 8192
At the command line: Pass the inode size ( -I 128 ) and the bytes-per-inode ratio ( -i
8192 ) to the mkfs.ext3(8) command or the mke2fs(8) command when you create a
new Ext3 le system. For example, use either of the following commands:
sudo mkfs.ext3 -b 4096 -i 8092 -I 128 /dev/sda2

sudo mke2fs -t ext3 -b 4096 -i 8192 -I 128 /dev/sda2
During installation with YaST: Pass the inode size and bytes-per-inode ratio values when
you create a new Ext3 le system during the installation. In the YaST Partitioner on the
Edit Partition page under Formatting Options, select Format partitionExt3, then click Options.
In the File system options dialog, select the desired values from the Block Size in Bytes, Bytes-
per-inode, and Inode Size drop-down box.
For example, select 4096 for the Block Size in Bytes drop-down box, select 8192 from the
Bytes per inode drop-down box, select 128 from the Inode Size drop-down box, then click OK.
During installation with AutoYaST: In an AutoYaST profile, you can use the fs_options
tag to set the opt_bytes_per_inode ratio value of 8192 for -i and the opt_inode_den-
sity value of 128 for -I:
<partitioning config:type="list">
<drive>
<device>/dev/sda</device>
<initialize config:type="boolean">true</initialize>
<partitions config:type="list">
<partition>
<filesystem config:type="symbol">ext3</filesystem>
<format config:type="boolean">true</format>
<fs_options>
<opt_bytes_per_inode>
<option_str>-i</option_str>
<option_value>8192</option_value>
</opt_bytes_per_inode>
<opt_inode_density>
<option_str>-I</option_str>
<option_value>128</option_value>
</opt_inode_density>
</fs_options>
<mount>/</mount>
<partition_id config:type="integer">131</partition_id>
<partition_type>primary</partition_type>
<size>25G</size>
</partition>
</partitions>
</drive>
<partitioning>
For information, see http://www.suse.com/support/kb/doc.php?id=7009075 (SLES11 ext3 parti-

tions can only store 50% of the les that can be stored on SLES10 [Technical Information Document
7009075]).
1.6 Ext4
In 2006, Ext4 started as a fork from Ext3. It eliminates some storage limitations of Ext3 by sup-
porting volumes with a size of up to 1 exbibyte, les with a size of up to 16 tebibytes and an
unlimited number of subdirectories. It also introduces several performance enhancements such
as delayed block allocation and a much faster le system checking routine. Ext4 is also more re-
liable by supporting journal checksums and by providing time stamps measured in nanoseconds.
Ext4 is fully backward compatible to Ext2 and Ext3—both le systems can be mounted as Ext4.
1.7 ReiserFS
Officially one of the key features of the 2.4 kernel release, ReiserFS has been available as a
kernel patch for 2.2.x SUSE kernels since version 6.4. ReiserFS was designed by Hans Reiser
and the Namesys development team. It has proven itself to be a powerful alternative to Ext2.
Its key assets are better disk space usage, better disk access performance, faster crash recovery,
and reliability through data journaling.
24 Ext4 SLES 12 SP3

Important: Support of ReiserFS in SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server 12
Existing ReiserFS partitions are supported for the lifetime of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
12 specifically for migration purposes. Support for creating new ReiserFS le systems has
been removed starting with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12.
1.8 Other Supported File Systems

Table 1.1, “File System Types in Linux” summarizes some other le systems supported by Linux. They
are supported mainly to ensure compatibility and interchange of data with different kinds of
media or foreign operating systems.
TABLE 1.1: FILE SYSTEM TYPES IN LINUX
File System Type Description
cramfs Compressed ROM le system: A compressed read-only le system for
ROMs.
hpfs High Performance File System: The IBM OS/2 standard le system.
Only supported in read-only mode.
iso9660 Standard le system on CD-ROMs.
minix This le system originated from academic projects on operating sys-
tems and was the rst le system used in Linux. Today, it is used as
a le system for floppy disks.
msdos fat , the le system originally used by DOS, is today used by vari-
ous operating systems.
nfs Network File System: Here, data can be stored on any machine in a
network and access might be granted via a network.
ntfs Windows NT le system; read-only.
smbfs Server Message Block is used by products such as Windows to enable

le access over a network.
25 Other Supported File Systems SLES 12 SP3

File System Type Description
sysv Used on SCO Unix, Xenix, and Coherent (commercial Unix systems
for PCs).
ufs Used by BSD, SunOS, and NextStep. Only supported in read-only

mode.
umsdos Unix on MS-DOS: Applied on top of a standard fat le system,

achieves Unix functionality (permissions, links, long le names) by
creating special les.
vfat Virtual FAT: Extension of the fat le system (supports long le
names).
1.9 Large File Support in Linux

Originally, Linux supported a maximum le size of 2 GiB (231 bytes). Unless a le system comes
with large le support, the maximum le size on a 32-bit system is 2 GiB.
Currently, all of our standard le systems have LFS (large le support), which gives a maximum
le size of 263 bytes in theory. Table 1.2, “Maximum Sizes of Files and File Systems (On-Disk Format, 4
KiB Block Size)” offers an overview of the current on-disk format limitations of Linux les and le
systems. The numbers in the table assume that the le systems are using 4 KiB block size, which
is a common standard. When using different block sizes, the results are different. The maximum
le sizes in Table 1.2, “Maximum Sizes of Files and File Systems (On-Disk Format, 4 KiB Block Size)” can
be larger than the le system's actual size when using sparse blocks.
Note: Binary Multiples

In this document: 1024 Bytes = 1 KiB; 1024 KiB = 1 MiB; 1024 MiB = 1 GiB; 1024 GiB
= 1 TiB; 1024 TiB = 1 PiB; 1024 PiB = 1 EiB (see also NIST: Prefixes for Binary Multiples
(http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/binary.html) .
26 Large File Support in Linux SLES 12 SP3

TABLE 1.2: MAXIMUM SIZES OF FILES AND FILE SYSTEMS (ON-DISK FORMAT, 4 KIB BLOCK SIZE)
File System (4 KiB Block Maximum File System Size Maximum File Size
Size)
Btrfs 16 EiB 16 EiB
Ext3 16 TiB 2 TiB
Ext4 1 EiB 16 TiB
OCFS2 (a cluster-aware le 16 TiB 1 EiB

system available in the High
Availability Extension)
ReiserFS v3.6 16 TiB 1 EiB
XFS 8 EiB 8 EiB
NFSv2 (client side) 8 EiB 2 GiB
NFSv3/NFSv4 (client side) 8 EiB 8 EiB
Important: Limitations
Table 1.2, “Maximum Sizes of Files and File Systems (On-Disk Format, 4 KiB Block Size)” describes
the limitations regarding the on-disk format. The Linux kernel imposes its own limits on
the size of les and le systems handled by it. These are as follows:
File Size
On 32-bit systems, les cannot exceed 2 TiB (241 bytes).
File System Size

File systems can be up to 273 bytes in size. However, this limit is still out of reach
for the currently available hardware.
27 Large File Support in Linux SLES 12 SP3

1.10 Linux Kernel Storage Limitations
Table 1.3, “Storage Limitations” summarizes the kernel limits for storage associated with SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server.
TABLE 1.3: STORAGE LIMITATIONS
Storage Feature Limitation
Maximum number of LUNs supported 16384 LUNs per target.
Maximum number of paths per single LUN No limit by default. Each path is treated as a
normal LUN.
The actual limit is given by the number of
LUNs per target and the number of targets
per HBA (16777215 for a Fibre Channel
HBA).
Maximum number of HBAs Unlimited. The actual limit is determined by

the amount of PCI slots of the system.
Maximum number of paths with de- Approximately 1024. The actual number de-
vice-mapper-multipath (in total) per operat- pends on the length of the device number
ing system strings. It is a compile-time variable within
multipath-tools, which can be raised if this
limit poses a problem.
Maximum size per block device Up to 8 EiB.
1.11 Troubleshooting File Systems

This section describes some known issues and possible solutions for le systems.
1.11.1 Btrfs Error: No space is left on device

The root ( / ) partition using the Btrfs le system stops accepting data. You receive the error
“ No space left on device ”.
See the following sections for information about possible causes and prevention of this issue.
28 Linux Kernel Storage Limitations SLES 12 SP3

1.11.1.1 Disk Space Consumed by Snapper Snapshots
If Snapper is running for the Btrfs le system, the “ No space left on device ” problem is
typically caused by having too much data stored as snapshots on your system.
You can remove some snapshots from Snapper, however, the snapshots are not deleted imme-
diately and might not free up as much space as you need.
To delete les from Snapper:
1. Open a terminal console.
2. At the command prompt, enter btrfs filesystem show , for example:
tux > sudo btrfs filesystem show

Label: none uuid: 40123456-cb2c-4678-8b3d-d014d1c78c78
Total devices 1 FS bytes used 20.00GB
devid 1 size 20.00GB used 20.00GB path /dev/sda3
3. Enter
sudo btrfs fi balance start MOUNTPOINT -dusage=5
This command attempts to relocate data in empty or near-empty data chunks, allowing
the space to be reclaimed and reassigned to metadata. This can take a while (many hours
for 1 TB) although the system is otherwise usable during this time.
4. List the snapshots in Snapper. Enter
sudo snapper -c root list
5. Delete one or more snapshots from Snapper. Enter
sudo snapper -c root delete SNAPSHOT_NUMBER(S)
Ensure that you delete the oldest snapshots rst. The older a snapshot is, the more disk
space it occupies.
To help prevent this problem, you can change the Snapper cleanup algorithms. See Book “Admin-
istration Guide”, Chapter 7 “System Recovery and Snapshot Management with Snapper”, Section 7.5.1.2
“Cleanup-algorithms” for details. The configuration values controlling snapshot cleanup are EMP-
TY_* , NUMBER_* , and TIMELINE_* .
29 Btrfs Error: No space is left on device SLES 12 SP3

If you use Snapper with Btrfs on the le system disk, it is advisable to reserve twice the amount
of disk space than the standard storage proposal. The YaST Partitioner automatically proposes
twice the standard disk space in the Btrfs storage proposal for the root le system.
1.11.1.2 Disk Space Consumed by Log, Crash, and Cache Files
If the system disk is filling up with data, you can try deleting les from /var/log , /var/crash ,
/var/lib/systemd/coredump and /var/cache .
The Btrfs root le system subvolumes /var/log , /var/crash and /var/cache can use all
of the available disk space during normal operation, and cause a system malfunction. To help
avoid this situation, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server offers Btrfs quota support for subvolumes.
See Section 1.2.5, “Btrfs Quota Support for Subvolumes” for details.
On test and development machines, especially if you have frequent crashes of applications, you
may also want to have a look at /var/lib/systemd/coredump where the coredumps are stored.
1.11.2 Freeing Unused File System Blocks

On solid-state drives (SSDs) and thinly provisioned volumes it is useful to trim blocks not in use
by the le system. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server fully supports unmap or trim operations on
all le systems supporting these methods.
The recommended way to trim a supported le system (except Btrfs) on SUSE Linux Enter-
prise Server is to run /sbin/wiper.sh . Make sure to read /usr/share/doc/packages/hd-
parm/README.wiper before running this script. For most desktop and server systems the suffi-
cient trimming frequency is once a week. Mounting a le system with -o discard comes with
a performance penalty and may negatively affect the lifetime of SSDs and is not recommended.
Warning: Do Not Use wiper.sh on Btrfs

The wiper.sh script trims read-write mounted ext4 and xfs le systems, and for read-
only mounted/unmounted ext2, ext3, ext4, and xfs le systems. Do not use wiper.sh on
the Btrfs le system as it may damage your data. Instead, use /usr/share/btrfsmain-
tenance/btrfs-trim.sh which is part of the btrfsmaintenance package.
30 Freeing Unused File System Blocks SLES 12 SP3

1.12 Additional Information
Each of the le system projects described above maintains its own home page on which to nd
mailing list information, further documentation, and FAQs:
The Btrfs Wiki on Kernel.org: https://btrfs.wiki.kernel.org/
E2fsprogs: Ext2/3/4 File System Utilities: http://e2fsprogs.sourceforge.net/
Introducing Ext3: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-fs7/
XFS: A High-Performance Journaling File System: http://oss.sgi.com/projects/xfs/
The OCFS2 Project: http://oss.oracle.com/projects/ocfs2/
A comprehensive multi-part tutorial about Linux le systems can be found at IBM developer-
Works in the Advanced File System Implementor’s Guide (https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lin-
ux/library/l-fs/ ).
An in-depth comparison of le systems (not only Linux le systems) is available from
the Wikipedia project in Comparison of File Systems (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari-
son_of_file_systems#Comparison ).
31 Additional Information SLES 12 SP3

2 Resizing File Systems
Resizing le systems—not to be confused with resizing partitions or volumes—can be used to

make space available on physical volumes or to use additional space available on a physical
volume.
2.1 Use Cases

It is strongly recommended to use the YaST Partitioner to resize partitions or logical volumes.
When doing so, the le system will automatically be adjusted to the new size of the partition
or volume. However, there are some cases where you need to resize the le system manually,
because they are not supported by YaST:
After having resized a virtual disk of a VM Guest.
After having resized a volume from a network-attached storage.
After having manually resized partitions (for example by using fdisk or parted ) or
logical volumes (for example by using lvresize ).
When wanting to shrink Btrfs le systems (as of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, YaST
only supports growing Btrfs le systems).
2.2 Guidelines for Resizing

Resizing any le system involves some risks that can potentially result in losing data.
Warning: Back Up your Data

To avoid data loss, ensure that you back up your data before you begin any resizing task.
Consider the following guidelines when planning to resize a le system.
32 Use Cases SLES 12 SP3

2.2.1 File Systems that Support Resizing
The le system must support resizing to take advantage of increases in available space for the
volume. In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, le system resizing utilities are available for le sys-
tems Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, and ReiserFS. The utilities support increasing and decreasing the size as
follows:
TABLE 2.1: FILE SYSTEM SUPPORT FOR RESIZING
File System Utility Increase Size Decrease Size

(Grow) (Shrink)
Btrfs btrfs filesystem Online Online

resize
XFS xfs_growfs Online Not supported
Ext2 resize2fs Online or offline Offline only
ReiserFS resize_reiserfs Online or offline Offline only
2.2.2 Increasing the Size of a File System

You can grow a le system to the maximum space available on the device, or specify an exact
size. Ensure that you grow the size of the device or logical volume before you attempt to increase
the size of the le system.
When specifying an exact size for the le system, ensure that the new size satisfies the following
conditions:
The new size must be greater than the size of the existing data; otherwise, data loss occurs.
The new size must be equal to or less than the current device size because the le system
size cannot extend beyond the space available.
33 File Systems that Support Resizing SLES 12 SP3

2.2.3 Decreasing the Size of a File System
When decreasing the size of the le system on a device, ensure that the new size satisfies the
following conditions:
The new size must be equal to or less than the current device size because the le system
If you plan to also decrease the size of the logical volume that holds the le system, ensure that
you decrease the size of the le system before you attempt to decrease the size of the device
or logical volume.
Important: XFS
Decreasing the size of a le system formatted with XFS is not possible, since such a feature
is not supported by XFS.
2.3 Changing the Size of a Btrfs File System

The size of a Btrfs le system can be changed by using the btrfs filesystem resize command
when the le system is mounted. Increasing and decreasing the size are both supported while
the le system is mounted.
2. Make sure the le system you want to change is mounted.
3. Change the size of the le system using the btrfs filesystem resize command with
one of the following methods:
To extend the le system size to the maximum available size of the device, enter
sudo btrfs filesystem resize max /mnt
To extend the le system to a specific size, enter
sudo btrfs filesystem resize SIZE /mnt
34 Decreasing the Size of a File System SLES 12 SP3

Replace SIZE with the desired size in bytes. You can also specify units on the value,
such as 50000K (kilobytes), 250M (megabytes), or 2G (gigabytes). Alternatively, you
can specify an increase or decrease to the current size by prefixing the value with a
plus ( + ) or a minus ( - ) sign, respectively:
sudo btrfs filesystem resize +SIZE /mnt

sudo btrfs filesystem resize -SIZE /mnt
4. Check the effect of the resize on the mounted le system by entering
df -h
The Disk Free ( df ) command shows the total size of the disk, the number of blocks used,
and the number of blocks available on the le system. The -h option prints sizes in hu-
man-readable format, such as 1K, 234M, or 2G.
2.4 Changing the Size of an XFS File System

The size of an XFS le system can be increased by using the xfs_growfs command when the
le system is mounted. Reducing the size of an XFS le system is not possible.
2. Make sure the le system you want to change is mounted.
3. Increase the size of the le system using the xfs_growfs command. The following ex-
ample expands the size of the le system to the maximum value available. See man 8
xfs_growfs for more options.
sudo xfs_growfs -d /mnt
df -h
35 Changing the Size of an XFS File System SLES 12 SP3

2.5 Changing the Size of an Ext2, Ext3, or Ext4 File
System
The size of Ext2, Ext3, and Ext4 le systems can be increased by using the resize2fs command,
regardless of whether the respective partition is mounted or not. To decrease the size of an Ext
le system it needs to be unmounted.
2. If the le system size should be decreased, unmount it.
3. Change the size of the le system using one of the following methods:
To extend the le system size to the maximum available size of the device called /
dev/sda1 , enter
sudo resize2fs /dev/sda1
If a size parameter is not specified, the size defaults to the size of the partition.
To change the le system to a specific size, enter
sudo resize2fs /dev/sda1 SIZE
The SIZE parameter specifies the requested new size of the le system. If no units are
specified, the unit of the size parameter is the block size of the le system. Optionally,
the size parameter can be suffixed by one of the following unit designators: s for
512 byte sectors; K for kilobytes (1 kilobyte is 1024 bytes); M for megabytes; or
G for gigabytes.
Wait until the resizing is completed before continuing.
4. If the le system is not mounted, mount it now.
df -h
36 Changing the Size of an Ext2, Ext3, or Ext4 File System SLES 12 SP3
2.6 Changing the Size of a Reiser File System
A ReiserFS le system can be increased in size while mounted or unmounted. To decrease its
size it needs to be unmounted.
2. If you want to decrease the size of the le system, unmount it in case it is mounted.
3. Change the size of the le system on the device called /dev/sda2 , using one of the fol-
lowing methods:
To extend the le system size to the maximum available size of the device, enter
sudo resize_reiserfs /dev/sda2
When no size is specified, this increases the volume to the full size of the partition.
To extend the le system to a specific size, enter
sudo resize_reiserfs -s SIZE /dev/sda2
Replace SIZE with the desired size in bytes. You can also specify units on the value,
such as 50000K (kilobytes), 250M (megabytes), or 2G (gigabytes). Alternatively, you
can specify an increase or decrease to the current size by prefixing the value with a
plus ( + ) or minus ( - ) sign, respectively:
sudo resize_reiserfs -s +SIZE /dev/sda2

sudo resize_reiserfs -s -SIZE /dev/sda2
Wait until the resizing is completed before continuing.
4. If the le system is not mounted, mount it now.
df -h
37 Changing the Size of a Reiser File System SLES 12 SP3

3 Using UUIDs to Mount Devices
This section describes the use of UUIDs (Universally Unique Identifiers) instead of device names
(such as /dev/sda1 ) to identify le system devices. Starting with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
12, UUIDs are used by default in the boot loader le and the /etc/fstab le.
3.1 Persistent Device Names with udev

Starting with Linux kernel 2.6, udev provides a user space solution for the dynamic /dev
directory, with persistent device naming. As part of the hotplug system, udev is executed if a
device is added to or removed from the system.
A list of rules is used to match against specific device attributes. The udev rules infrastructure
(defined in the /etc/udev/rules.d directory) provides stable names for all disk devices, re-
gardless of their order of recognition or the connection used for the device. The udev tools
examine every appropriate block device that the kernel creates to apply naming rules based on
certain buses, drive types, or le systems. For information about how to define your own rules
for udev , see Writing udev Rules (http://reactivated.net/writing_udev_rules.html) .
Along with the dynamic kernel-provided device node name, udev maintains classes of persistent
symbolic links pointing to the device in the /dev/disk directory, which is further categorized
by the by-id , by-label , by-path , and by-uuid subdirectories.
Note: UUID Generators

Other programs besides udev , such as LVM or md , might also generate UUIDs, but they
are not listed in /dev/disk .
3.2 Understanding UUIDs

A UUID (Universally Unique Identifier) is a 128-bit number for a le system that is unique on
both the local system and across other systems. It is randomly generated with system hardware
information and time stamps as part of its seed. UUIDs are commonly used to uniquely tag
devices.
38 Persistent Device Names with udev SLES 12 SP3

Using non-persistent “traditional” device names such as /dev/sda1 may render the system
unbootable when adding storage. For example, if root ( / ) is assigned to /dev/sda1 , it might
be reassigned to /dev/sdg1 after a SAN has been attached or additional hard disks have been
applied to the system. In this case the boot loader configuration and the /etc/fstab le need
to be adjusted, otherwise the system will no longer boot.
One way to avoid this problem is to use the UUID in the boot loader and /etc/fstab les for
the boot device. This is the default in SUSE Linux Enterprise since version 12. The UUID is a
property of the le system and can change if you reformat the drive. Other alternatives to using
UUIDs of device names would be to identify devices by ID or label.
You can also use the UUID as criterion for assembling and activating software RAID devices.
When a RAID is created, the md driver generates a UUID for the device, and stores the value
in the md superblock.
You can nd the UUID for any block device in the /dev/disk/by-uuid directory. For example,
a UUID entry looks like this:
tux > ls -og /dev/disk/by-uuid/

lrwxrwxrwx 1 10 Dec 5 07:48 e014e482-1c2d-4d09-84ec-61b3aefde77a -> ../../sda1

For more information about using udev for managing devices, see Book “Administration Guide”,
Chapter 21 “Dynamic Kernel Device Management with udev”.
For more information about udev commands, see man 7 udev .

4 Multi-tier Caching for Block Device Operations
A multi-tier cache is a replicated/distributed cache that consists of at least two tiers: one is
represented by slower but cheaper rotational block devices (hard disks), while the other is more
expensive but performs faster data operations (for example SSD ash disks).
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server implements two different solutions for caching between ash and
rotational devices: bcache and lvmcache .
4.1 General Terminology

This section explains several terms often used when describing cache related features:
Migration
Movement of the primary copy of a logical block from one device to the other.
Promotion
Migration from the slow device to the fast device.
Demotion
Migration from the fast device to the slow device.
Origin device
The big and slower block device. It always contains a copy of the logical block, which may
be out of date or kept in synchronization with the copy on the cache device (depending
on policy).
Cache device
The small and faster block device.
Metadata device
A small device that records which blocks are in the cache, which are dirty, and extra hints
for use by the policy object. This information could be put on the cache device as well,
but having it separate allows the volume manager to configure it differently, for example
as a mirror for extra robustness. The metadata device may only be used by a single cache
device.
Dirty block
40 General Terminology SLES 12 SP3

If some process writes to a block of data which is placed in the cache, the cached block
is marked as dirty because it was overwritten in the cache and needs to be written back
to the original device.
Cache miss
A request for I/O operations is pointed to the cached device's cache rst. If it cannot nd
the requested values, it looks in the device itself, which is slow. This is called a cache miss.
Cache hit
When a requested value is found in the cached device's cache, it is served fast. This is
called a cache hit.
Cold cache
Cache that holds no values (is empty) and causes cache misses. As the cached block device
operations progress, it gets lled with data and becomes warm.
Warm cache
Cache that already holds some values and is likely to result in cache hits.
4.2 Caching Modes

Following are the basic caching modes that multi-tier caches use: write-back, write-through, write-
around and pass-through.
write-back
Data written to a block that is cached go to the cache only, and the block is marked dirty.
This is the default caching mode.
write-through
Writing to a cached block will not complete until it has hit both the origin and cache
devices. Clean blocks remain clean with write-through cache.
write-around
A similar technique to write-through cache, but write I/O is written directly to a permanent
storage, bypassing the cache. This can prevent the cache being flooded with write I/O that
will not subsequently be re-read, but the disadvantage is that a read request for recently
written data will create a 'cache miss' and needs to be read from slower bulk storage and
experience higher latency.
pass-through
41 Caching Modes SLES 12 SP3

To enable the pass-through mode, the cache needs to be clean. Reading is served from the
origin device bypassing the cache. Writing is forwarded to the origin device and 'invali-
dates' the cache block. Pass-through allows a cache device activation without having to
care about data coherency, which is maintained. The cache will gradually become cold as
writing takes place. If you can verify the coherency of the cache later, or establish it by
using the invalidate_cblocks message, you can switch the cache device to write-through
or write-back mode while it is still warm. Otherwise, you can discard the cache contents
before switching to the desired caching mode.
4.3 bcache
bcache is a Linux kernel block layer cache. It allows one or more fast disk drives (such as SSDs)
to act as a cache for one or more slower hard disks. bcache supports write-through and write-
back, and is independent of the le system used. By default it caches random reads and writes
only, which SSDs excel at. It is suitable for desktops, servers, and high end storage arrays as well.
4.3.1 Main Features

A single cache device can be used to cache an arbitrary number of backing devices. Backing
devices can be attached and detached at runtime, while mounted and in use.
Recovers from unclean shutdowns—writes are not completed until the cache is consistent
with regard to the backing device.
Throttles traffic to the SSD if it becomes congested.
Highly efficient write-back implementation. Dirty data is always written out in sorted or-
der.
Stable and reliable—in production use.
4.3.2 Setting Up a bcache Device

This section describes steps to set up and manage a bcache device.
1. Install the bcache-tools package:
sudo zypper in bcache-tools
42 bcache SLES 12 SP3

2. Create a backing device (typically a mechanical drive). The backing device can be a whole
device, a partition, or any other standard block device.
sudo make-bcache -B /dev/sdb
3. Create a cache device (typically an SSD disk).
sudo make-bcache -C /dev/sdc
In this example, the default block and bucket sizes of 512 B and 128 KB are used. The
block size should match the backing device's sector size which will usually be either 512
or 4k. The bucket size should match the erase block size of the caching device with the
intention of reducing write amplification. For example, using a hard disk with 4k sectors
and an SSD with an erase block size of 2 MB this command would look as follows:
sudo make-bcache --block 4k --bucket 2M -C /dev/sdc
Tip: Multi-Device Support

make-bcache can prepare and register multiple backing devices and a cache device
at the same time. In this case you do not need to manually attach the cache device
to the backing device afterward:
sudo make-bcache -B /dev/sda /dev/sdb -C /dev/sdc
4. bcache devices show up as
/dev/bcacheN
and as
/dev/bcache/by-uuid/UUID
/dev/bcache/by-label/LABEL
You can normally format and mount bcache devices as usual:
mkfs.ext4 /dev/bcache0
mount /dev/bcache0 /mnt
You can control bcache devices through sysfs at /sys/block/bcacheN/bcache .
43 Setting Up a bcache Device SLES 12 SP3

5. After both the cache and backing devices are registered, you need to attach the backing
device to the related cache set to enable caching:
echo CACHE_SET_UUID > /sys/block/bcache0/bcache/attach
where CACHE_SET_UUID is found in /sys/fs/bcache .
6. By default bcache uses a pass-through caching mode. To change it to for example write-
back, run
echo writeback > /sys/block/bcache0/bcache/cache_mode
4.3.3 bcache Configuration Using sysfs

bcache devices use the sysfs interface to store their runtime configuration values. This way
you can change bcache backing and cache disks' behavior or see their usage statistics.
For the complete list of bcache sysfs parameters, see the contents of the /usr/src/lin-
ux/Documentation/bcache.txt le, mainly the SYSFS - BACKING DEVICE , SYSFS - BACK-
ING DEVICE STATS , and SYSFS - CACHE DEVICE sections.
4.4 lvmcache
lvmcache is a caching mechanism consisting of logical volumes (LVs). It uses the dm-cache
kernel driver and supports write-through (default) and write-back caching modes. lvmcache
improves performance of a large and slow LV by dynamically migrating some of its data to a
faster and smaller LV. For more information on LVM, see Part II, “Logical Volumes (LVM)”.
LVM refers to the small, fast LV as a cache pool LV. The large, slow LV is called the origin LV.
Because of requirements from dm-cache, LVM further splits the cache pool LV into two devices:
the cache data LV and cache metadata LV. The cache data LV is where copies of data blocks
are kept from the origin LV to increase speed. The cache metadata LV holds the accounting
information that specifies where data blocks are stored.
4.4.1 Configuring lvmcache

This section describes steps to create and configure LVM based caching.
44 bcache Configuration Using sysfs SLES 12 SP3

1. Create the origin LV. Create a new LV or use an existing LV to become the origin LV:
lvcreate -n ORIGIN_LV -L 100G vg /dev/SLOW_DEV
2. Create the cache data LV. This LV will hold data blocks from the origin LV. The size of this
LV is the size of the cache and will be reported as the size of the cache pool LV.
lvcreate -n CACHE_DATA_LV -L 10G vg /dev/FAST
3. Create the cache metadata LV. This LV will hold cache pool metadata. The size of this LV
should be approximately 1000 times smaller than the cache data LV, with a minimum
size of 8MB.
lvcreate -n CACHE_METADATA_LV -L 12M vg /dev/FAST
List the volumes you have created so far:
lvs -a vg
LV VG Attr LSize Pool Origin
cache_data_lv vg -wi-a----- 10.00g
cache_metadata_lv vg -wi-a----- 12.00m
origin_lv vg -wi-a----- 100.00g
4. Create a cache pool LV. Combine the data and metadata LVs into a cache pool LV. You can
set the cache pool LV's behavior at the same time.
CACHE_POOL_LV takes the name of CACHE_DATA_LV .
CACHE_DATA_LV is renamed to CACHE_DATA_LV _cdata and becomes hidden.
CACHE_META_LV is renamed to CACHE_DATA_LV _cmeta and becomes hidden.
lvconvert --type cache-pool \

--poolmetadata vg/cache_metadata_lv vg/cache_data_lv
lvs -a vg
cache_data_lv vg Cwi---C--- 10.00g
[cache_data_lv_cdata] vg Cwi------- 10.00g
[cache_data_lv_cmeta] vg ewi------- 12.00m
origin_lv vg -wi-a----- 100.00g
5. Create a cache LV. Create a cache LV by linking the cache pool LV to the origin LV.
The user accessible cache LV takes the name of the origin LV, while the origin LV becomes
a hidden LV renamed to ORIGIN_LV _corig.
45 Configuring lvmcache SLES 12 SP3

CacheLV takes the name of ORIGIN_LV .
ORIGIN_LV is renamed to ORIGIN_LV _corig and becomes hidden.
lvconvert --type cache --cachepool vg/cache_data_lv vg/origin_lv
lvs -a vg
cache_data_lv vg Cwi---C--- 10.00g
[cache_data_lv_cdata] vg Cwi-ao---- 10.00g
[cache_data_lv_cmeta] vg ewi-ao---- 12.00m
origin_lv vg Cwi-a-C--- 100.00g cache_data_lv [origin_lv_corig]
[origin_lv_corig] vg -wi-ao---- 100.00g
4.4.2 Removing a Cache Pool

There are several ways to turn o the LV cache.
4.4.2.1 Detach a Cache Pool LV from a Cache LV

You can disconnect a cache pool LV from a cache LV, leaving an unused cache pool LV and an
uncached origin LV. Data are written back from the cache pool to the origin LV when necessary.
lvconvert --splitcache vg/origin_lv
4.4.2.2 Removing a Cache Pool LV without Removing its Origin LV

This writes back data from the cache pool to the origin LV when necessary, then removes the
cache pool LV, leaving the uncached origin LV.
lvremove vg/cache_data_lv
An alternative command that also disconnects the cache pool from the cache LV, and deletes
the cache pool:
lvconvert --uncache vg/origin_lv
4.4.2.3 Removing Both the Origin LV and the Cache Pool LV

Removing a cache LV removes both the origin LV and the linked cache pool LV.
46 Removing a Cache Pool SLES 12 SP3

lvremove vg/origin_lv
4.4.2.4 For More Information

You can nd more lvmcache related topics, such as supported cache modes, redundant sub-
logical volumes, cache policy, or converting existing LVs to cache types, in the lvmcache man-
ual page ( man 7 lvmcache ).
47 Removing a Cache Pool SLES 12 SP3

II Logical Volumes (LVM)
5 LVM Configuration 49
6 LVM Volume Snapshots 79

5 LVM Configuration
This chapter describes the principles behind Logical Volume Manager (LVM) and its
basic features that make it useful under many circumstances. The YaST LVM config-
uration can be reached from the YaST Expert Partitioner. This partitioning tool en-
ables you to edit and delete existing partitions and create new ones that should be
used with LVM.
Warning: Risks
Using LVM might be associated with increased risk, such as data loss. Risks also include
application crashes, power failures, and faulty commands. Save your data before imple-
menting LVM or reconfiguring volumes. Never work without a backup.
5.1 Understanding the Logical Volume Manager

LVM enables flexible distribution of hard disk space over several physical volumes (hard disks,
partitions, LUNs). It was developed because the need to change the segmentation of hard disk
space might arise only after the initial partitioning has already been done during installation.
Because it is difficult to modify partitions on a running system, LVM provides a virtual pool
(volume group or VG) of storage space from which logical volumes (LVs) can be created as
needed. The operating system accesses these LVs instead of the physical partitions. Volume
groups can span more than one disk, so that several disks or parts of them can constitute one
single VG. In this way, LVM provides a kind of abstraction from the physical disk space that
allows its segmentation to be changed in a much easier and safer way than through physical
repartitioning.
Figure 5.1, “Physical Partitioning versus LVM” compares physical partitioning (left) with LVM seg-
mentation (right). On the left side, one single disk has been divided into three physical partitions
(PART), each with a mount point (MP) assigned so that the operating system can access them.
On the right side, two disks have been divided into two and three physical partitions each. Two
LVM volume groups (VG 1 and VG 2) have been defined. VG 1 contains two partitions from
DISK 1 and one from DISK 2. VG 2 contains the remaining two partitions from DISK 2.
49 Understanding the Logical Volume Manager SLES 12 SP3

DISK DISK 1 DISK 2
PART PART PART PART PART
PART PART PART VG 1 VG 2
LV 1 LV 2 LV 3 LV4
MP MP MP MP MP MP MP
FIGURE 5.1: PHYSICAL PARTITIONING VERSUS LVM
In LVM, the physical disk partitions that are incorporated in a volume group are called physical
volumes (PVs). Within the volume groups in Figure 5.1, “Physical Partitioning versus LVM”, four
logical volumes (LV 1 through LV 4) have been defined, which can be used by the operating
system via the associated mount points (MP). The border between different logical volumes need
not be aligned with any partition border. See the border between LV 1 and LV 2 in this example.
LVM features:
Several hard disks or partitions can be combined in a large logical volume.
Provided the configuration is suitable, an LV (such as /usr ) can be enlarged when the
free space is exhausted.
Using LVM, it is possible to add hard disks or LVs in a running system. However, this
requires hotpluggable hardware that is capable of such actions.
It is possible to activate a striping mode that distributes the data stream of a logical volume
over several physical volumes. If these physical volumes reside on different disks, this can
improve the reading and writing performance like RAID 0.
The snapshot feature enables consistent backups (especially for servers) in the running
system.
Note: LVM and RAID

Even though LVM also supports RAID of 0/1/4/5/6 levels, we recommend to use MD
RAID (see Chapter 7, Software RAID Configuration). However, LVM works ne with RAID 0
and 1, as RAID 0 is similar to common logical volume management (individual logical
50 Understanding the Logical Volume Manager SLES 12 SP3

blocks are mapped onto blocks on the physical devices). LVM used on top of RAID 1
can keep track of mirror synchronization and is fully able to manage the synchronization
process. With higher RAID levels you need a management daemon that monitors the
states of attached disks and can inform administrators if there is a problem in the disk
array. LVM includes such a daemon, but in exceptional situations like a device failure,
the daemon does not working properly.
Warning: IBM z Systems: LVM Root File System

If you configure the system with an root le system on LVM or software raid array, you
must place /boot on a separate, non-LVM or non-Raid partition, otherwise the system
will fail to boot. The recommended size for such a partition is 500 MB and the recom-
mended le system is Ext4.
With these features, using LVM already makes sense for heavily used home PCs or small servers.
If you have a growing data stock, as in the case of databases, music archives, or user directo-
ries, LVM is especially useful. It allows le systems that are larger than the physical hard disk.
However, keep in mind that working with LVM is different from working with conventional
partitions.
You can manage new or existing LVM storage objects by using the YaST Partitioner. Instructions
and further information about configuring LVM are available in the official LVM HOWTO (http://
tldp.org/HOWTO/LVM-HOWTO/) .
5.2 Creating Volume Groups

An LVM volume group (VG) organizes the Linux LVM partitions into a logical pool of space. You
can carve out logical volumes from the available space in the group. The Linux LVM partitions
in a group can be on the same or different disks. You can add partitions or entire disks to expand
the size of the group.
To use an entire disk, it must not contain any partitions. When using partitions, they must not
be mounted. YaST will automatically change their partition type to 0x8E Linux LVM when
adding them to a VG.
1. Launch YaST and open the Partitioner.
51 Creating Volume Groups SLES 12 SP3

2. In case you need to reconfigure your existing partitioning setup, proceed as follows. Refer
to Book “Deployment Guide”, Chapter 12 “Advanced Disk Setup”, Section 12.1 “Using the YaST
Partitioner” for details. Skip this step if you only want to use unused disks or partitions
that already exist.
Warning: Physical Volumes on Unpartitioned

Disks
You can use an unpartitioned disk as a physical volume (PV) if that one is not the
disk where the operating system is installed and from which it boots.
As unpartitioned disks appear as unused on the system level, they can easily be
overwritten or wrongly accessed.
a. To use an entire hard disk that already contains partitions, delete all partitions on
that disk.
b. To use a partition that is currently mounted, unmount it.
3. In the left panel, select Volume Management.

A list of existing Volume Groups opens in the right panel.
4. At the lower left of the Volume Management page, click Add Volume Group.

5. Define the volume group as follows:
a. Specify the Volume Group Name.

If you are creating a volume group at install time, the name system is suggested for
a volume group that will contain the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server system les.
b. Specify the Physical Extent Size.

The Physical Extent Size defines the size of a physical block in the volume group. All
the disk space in a volume group is handled in chunks of this size. Values can be
from 1 KB to 16 GB in powers of 2. This value is normally set to 4 MB.
In LVM1, a 4 MB physical extent allowed a maximum LV size of 256 GB because
it supports only up to 65534 extents per LV. LVM2, which is used on SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server, does not restrict the number of physical extents. Having many
extents has no impact on I/O performance to the logical volume, but it slows down
the LVM tools.
Important: Physical Extent Sizes

Different physical extent sizes should not be mixed in a single VG. The extent
should not be modified after the initial setup.

c. In the Available Physical Volumes list, select the Linux LVM partitions that you want to
make part of this volume group, then click Add to move them to the Selected Physical
Volumes list.
d. Click Finish.
The new group appears in the Volume Groups list.
6. On the Volume Management page, click Next, verify that the new volume group is listed,
then click Finish.
7. To check which physical devices are part of the volume group, open the YaST Partitioner
at any time in the running system and click Volume Management Edit Physical Devices.
Leave this screen with Abort.
FIGURE 5.2: PHYSICAL VOLUMES IN THE VOLUME GROUP NAMED DATA
5.3 Creating Logical Volumes

A logical volume provides a pool of space similar to what a hard disk does. To make this space
usable, you need to define logical volumes. A logical volume is similar to a regular partition—
you can format and mount it.
54 Creating Logical Volumes SLES 12 SP3

Use The YaST Partitioner to create logical volumes from an existing volume group. Assign at least
one logical volume to each volume group. You can create new logical volumes as needed until
all free space in the volume group has been exhausted. An LVM logical volume can optionally be
thinly provisioned, allowing you to create logical volumes with sizes that overbook the available
free space (see Section 5.3.1, “Thinly Provisioned Logical Volumes” for more information).
Normal volume: (Default) The volume’s space is allocated immediately.
Thin pool: The logical volume is a pool of space that is reserved for use with thin volumes.
The thin volumes can allocate their needed space from it on demand.
Thin volume: The volume is created as a sparse volume. The volume allocates needed
space on demand from a thin pool.
Mirrored volume: The volume is created with a defined count of mirrors.
PROCEDURE 5.1: SETTING UP A LOGICAL VOLUME
2. In the left panel, select Volume Management. A list of existing Volume Groups opens in
the right panel.
3. Select the volume group in which you want to create the volume and choose Add Logical
Volume.
4. Provide a Name for the volume and choose Normal Volume (refer to Section 5.3.1, “Thinly
Provisioned Logical Volumes” for setting up thinly provisioned volumes). Proceed with Next.

5. Specify the size of the volume and whether to use multiple stripes.
Using a striped volume, the data will be distributed among several physical volumes. If
these physical volumes reside on different hard disks, this generally results in a better
reading and writing performance (like RAID 0). The maximum number of available stripes
is equal to the number of physical volumes. The default ( 1 is to not use multiple stripes.

6. Choose a Role for the volume. Your choice here only affects the default values for the
upcoming dialog. They can be changed in the next step. If in doubt, choose Raw Volume
(Unformatted).

7. Under Formatting Options, select Format Partition, then select the File system. The content
of the Options menu depends on the le system. Usually there is no need to change the
defaults.
Under Mounting Options, select Mount partition, then select the mount point. Click Fstab
Options to add special mounting options for the volume.
8. Click Finish.
9. Click Next, verify that the changes are listed, then click Finish.
5.3.1 Thinly Provisioned Logical Volumes

An LVM logical volume can optionally be thinly provisioned. Thin provisioning allows you to
create logical volumes with sizes that overbook the available free space. You create a thin pool
that contains unused space reserved for use with an arbitrary number of thin volumes. A thin
volume is created as a sparse volume and space is allocated from a thin pool as needed. The thin
pool can be expanded dynamically when needed for cost-effective allocation of storage space.
Thinly provisioned volumes also support snapshots which can be managed with Snapper—see
Book “Administration Guide”, Chapter 7 “System Recovery and Snapshot Management with Snapper” for
more information.
To set up a thinly provisioned logical volume, proceed as described in Procedure 5.1, “Setting Up
a Logical Volume”. When it comes to choosing the volume type, do not choose Normal Volume,
but rather Thin Volume or Thin Pool.
Thin pool
The logical volume is a pool of space that is reserved for use with thin volumes. The thin
volumes can allocate their needed space from it on demand.
Thin volume
The volume is created as a sparse volume. The volume allocates needed space on demand
from a thin pool.
Important: Thinly Provisioned Volumes in a Cluster

To use thinly provisioned volumes in a cluster, the thin pool and the thin volumes that
use it must be managed in a single cluster resource. This allows the thin volumes and thin
pool to always be mounted exclusively on the same node.
58 Thinly Provisioned Logical Volumes SLES 12 SP3

5.3.2 Creating Mirrored Volumes
A logical volume can be created with several mirrors. LVM ensures that data written to an
underlying physical volume is mirrored onto a different physical volume. Thus even though a
physical volume crashes, you can still access the data on the logical volume. LVM also keeps
a log le to manage the synchronization process. The log contains information about which
volume regions are currently undergoing synchronization with mirrors. By default the log is
stored on disk and if possible on a different disk than are the mirrors. But you may specify a
different location for the log, for example volatile memory.
Currently there are two types of mirror implementation available: "normal" (non-raid) mirror
logical volumes and raid1 logical volumes.
After you create mirrored logical volumes, you can perform standard operations with mirrored
logical volumes like activating, extending, and removing.
5.3.2.1 Setting Up Mirrored Non-raid Logical Volumes

To create a mirrored volume use the lvcreate command. The following example creates a 500
GB logical volume with two mirrors called lv1 which uses a volume group vg1.
lvcreate -L 500G -m 2 -n lv1 vg1
Such a logical volume is a linear volume (without striping) that provides three copies of the
le system. The m option specifies the count of mirrors. The L option specifies the size of the
logical volumes.
The logical volume is divided into regions of the 512 KB default size. If you need a different
size of regions, use the -R option followed by the desired region size in megabytes. Or you can
configure the preferred region size by editing the mirror_region_size option in the lvm.conf
le.
5.3.2.2 Setting Up raid1 Logical Volumes

As LVM supports RAID you can implement mirroring by using RAID1. Such implementation
provides the following advantages compared to the non-raid mirrors:
LVM maintains a fully redundant bitmap area for each mirror image, which increases its
fault handling capabilities.
Mirror images can be temporarily split from the array and then merged back.
59 Creating Mirrored Volumes SLES 12 SP3

The array can handle transient failures.
The LVM RAID 1 implementation supports snapshots.
On the other hand, this type of mirroring implementation does not enable to create a logical
volume in a clustered volume group.
To create a mirror volume by using RAID, issue the command
lvcreate --type raid1 -m 1 -L 1G -n lv1 vg1
where the options/parameters have the following meanings:
--type - you need to specify raid1 , otherwise the command uses the implicit segment
type mirror and creates a non-raid mirror.
-m - specifies the count of mirrors.
-L - specifies the size of the logical volume.
-n - by using this option you specify a name of the logical volume.
vg1 - is a name of the volume group used by the logical volume.
LVM creates a logical volume of one extent size for each data volume in the array. If you have
two mirrored volumes, LVM creates another two volumes that stores metadata.
After you create a RAID logical volume, you can use the volume in the same way as a common
logical volume. You can activate it, extend it, etc.
5.4 Automatically Activating Non-Root LVM Volume

Groups
Activation behavior for non-root LVM volume groups is controlled in the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf
le and by the auto_activation_volume_list parameter. By default, the parameter is empty
and all volumes are activated. To activate only some volume groups, add the names in quotes
and separate them with commas, for example:
auto_activation_volume_list = [ "vg1", "vg2/lvol1", "@tag1", "@*" ]
60 Automatically Activating Non-Root LVM Volume Groups SLES 12 SP3

If you have defined a list in the auto_activation_volume_list parameter, the following will
happen:
1. Each logical volume is rst checked against this list.
2. If it does not match, the logical volume will not be activated.
By default, non-root LVM volume groups are automatically activated on system restart by Dracut.
This parameter allows you to activate all volume groups on system restart, or to activate only
specified non-root LVM volume groups.
5.5 Resizing an Existing Volume Group

The space provided by a volume group can be expanded at any time in the running system
without service interruption by adding more physical volumes. This will allow you to add logical
volumes to the group or to expand the size of existing volumes as described in Section 5.6, “Resizing
a Logical Volume”.
It is also possible to reduce the size of the volume group by removing physical volumes. YaST
only allows to remove physical volumes that are currently unused. To nd out which physical
volumes are currently in use, run the following command. The partitions (physical volumes)
listed in the PE Ranges column are the ones in use:
tux > sudo pvs -o vg_name,lv_name,pv_name,seg_pe_ranges

root's password:
VG LV PV PE Ranges
/dev/sda1
DATA DEVEL /dev/sda5 /dev/sda5:0-3839
DATA /dev/sda5
DATA LOCAL /dev/sda6 /dev/sda6:0-2559
DATA /dev/sda7
DATA /dev/sdb1
DATA /dev/sdc1
the right panel.
3. Select the volume group you want to change, then click Resize.
61 Resizing an Existing Volume Group SLES 12 SP3

4. Do one of the following:
Add: Expand the size of the volume group by moving one or more physical volumes
(LVM partitions) from the Available Physical Volumes list to the Selected Physical Vol-
umes list.
Remove: Reduce the size of the volume group by moving one or more physical vol-
umes (LVM partitions) from the Selected Physical Volumes list to the Available Physical
Volumes list.
5. Click Finish.
5.6 Resizing a Logical Volume

In case there is unused free space available in the volume group, you can enlarge a logical
volume to provide more usable space. You may also reduce the size of a volume to free space
in the volume group that can be used by other logical volumes.
62 Resizing a Logical Volume SLES 12 SP3

Note: “Online” Resizing
When reducing the size of a volume, YaST automatically resizes its le system, too.
Whether a volume that is currently mounted can be resized “online” (that is while being
mounted), depends on its le system. Growing the le system online is supported by Btrfs,
XFS, Ext3, and ReiserFS.
Shrinking the le system online is only supported by Btrfs. To shrink XFS, Ext2/3/4, and
ReiserFS volumes, you need to unmount them. Shrinking volumes formatted with XFS is
not possible, since XFS does not support le system shrinking.
the right panel.
3. Select the logical volume you want to change, then click Resize.
63 Resizing a Logical Volume SLES 12 SP3

4. Set the intended size by using one of the following options:
Maximum Size. Expand the size of the logical volume to use all space left in the
volume group.
Minimum Size. Reduce the size of the logical volume to the size occupied by the
data and the le system metadata.
Custom Size. Specify the new size for the volume. The value must be within the range
of the minimum and maximum values listed above. Use K, M, G, T for Kilobytes,
Megabytes, Gigabytes and Terabytes (for example 20G ).
5. Click OK.
6. Click Next, verify that the change is listed, then click Finish.
5.7 Deleting a Volume Group or a Logical Volume
Warning: Data Loss

Deleting a volume group destroys all of the data in each of its member partitions. Deleting
a logical volume destroys all data stored on the volume.
2. In the left panel, select Volume Management. A list of existing volume groups opens in the
right panel.
3. Select the volume group or the logical volume you want to remove and click Delete.
4. Depending on your choice warning dialogs are shown. Confirm them with Yes.
5. Click Next, verify that the deleted volume group is listed (deletion is indicated by a red
colored font), then click Finish.
64 Deleting a Volume Group or a Logical Volume SLES 12 SP3

5.8 Using LVM Commands
For information about using LVM commands, see the man pages for the commands described in
the following table. All commands need to be executed with root privileges. Either use sudo
COMMAND (recommended) or execute them directly as root .
LVM COMMANDS
pvcreate DEVICE
Initializes a device (such as /dev/sdb1 ) for use by LVLM as a physical volume. If there is
any le system on the specified device, a warning appears. Bear in mind that pvcreate
checks for existing le systems only if blkid is installed (which is done by default). If
blkid is not available, pvcreate will not produce any warning and you may lose your
le system without any warning.
pvdisplay DEVICE
Displays information about the LVM physical volume, such as whether it is currently being
used in a logical volume.
vgcreate -c y VG_NAME DEV1 [DEV2...]

Creates a clustered volume group with one or more specified devices.
vgcreate --activationmode ACTIVATION_MODE VG_NAME

Configures the mode of volume group activation. You can specify one of the following
values:
complete - only the logical volumes that are not affected by missing physical vol-
umes can be activated, even though the particular logical volume can tolerate such
a failure.
degraded - is the default activation mode. If there is a sufficient level of redundancy

to activate a logical volume, the logical volume can be activated even though some
physical volumes are missing.
partial - the LVM tries to activate the volume group even though some physical
volumes are missing. If a non-redundant logical volume is missing important physical
volumes, then the logical volume usually cannot be activated and is handled as an
error target.
vgchange -a [ey|n] VG_NAME
65 Using LVM Commands SLES 12 SP3

Activates ( -a ey ) or deactivates ( -a n ) a volume group and its logical volumes for
input/output.
When activating a volume in a cluster, ensure that you use the ey option. This option is
used by default in the load script.
vgremove VG_NAME
Removes a volume group. Before using this command, remove the logical volumes, then
deactivate the volume group.
vgdisplay VG_NAME
Displays information about a specified volume group.
To nd the total physical extent of a volume group, enter
vgdisplay VG_NAME | grep "Total PE"
lvcreate -L SIZE -n LV_NAME VG_NAME

Creates a logical volume of the specified size.
lvcreate -L SIZE --thinpool POOL_NAME VG_NAME

Creates a thin pool named myPool of the specified size from the volume group VG_NAME .
The following example creates a thin pool with a size of 5 GB from the volume group
LOCAL :
lvcreate -L 5G --thinpool myPool LOCAL
lvcreate -T VG_NAME/POOL_NAME -V SIZE -n LV_NAME

Creates a thin logical volume within the pool POOL_NAME . The following example creates
a 1GB thin volume named myThin1 from the pool myPool on the volume group LOCAL :
lvcreate -T LOCAL/myPool -V 1G -n myThin1
lvcreate -T VG_NAME/POOL_NAME -V SIZE -L SIZE -n LV_NAME

It is also possible to combine thin pool and thin logical volume creation in one command:
lvcreate -T LOCAL/myPool -V 1G -L 5G -n myThin1
lvcreate --activationmode ACTIVATION_MODE LV_NAME

Configures the mode of logical volume activation. You can specify one of the following
values:
complete - the logical volume can be activated only if all its physical volumes are
active.
degraded - is the default activation mode. If there is a sufficient level of redundancy

to activate a logical volume, the logical volume can be activated even though some
physical volumes are missing.
partial - the LVM tries to activate the volume even though some physical volumes
are missing. In this case part of the logical volume may be unavailable and it might
cause data loss. This option is typically not used, but might be useful when restoring
data.
You can specify the activation mode also in /etc/lvm/lvm.conf by specifying one of the
above described values of the activation_mode configuration option.
lvcreate -s [-L SIZE] -n SNAP_VOLUME SOURCE_VOLUME_PATH VG_NAME

Creates a snapshot volume for the specified logical volume. If the size option ( -L or --
size ) is not included, the snapshot is created as a thin snapshot.
lvremove /dev/VG_NAME/LV_NAME
Removes a logical volume.
Before using this command, close the logical volume by unmounting it with the umount
command.
lvremove SNAP_VOLUME_PATH
Removes a snapshot volume.
lvconvert --merge SNAP_VOLUME_PATH

Reverts the logical volume to the version of the snapshot.
vgextend VG_NAME DEVICE

Adds the specified device (physical volume) to an existing volume group.
vgreduce VG_NAME DEVICE

Removes a specified physical volume from an existing volume group.
Ensure that the physical volume is not currently being used by a logical volume. If it is,
you must move the data to another physical volume by using the pvmove command.
lvextend -L SIZE /dev/VG_NAME/LV_NAME

Extends the size of a specified logical volume. Afterward, you must also expand the le
system to take advantage of the newly available space. See Chapter 2, Resizing File Systems
for details.
lvreduce -L SIZE /dev/VG_NAME/LV_NAME

Reduces the size of a specified logical volume.
Ensure that you reduce the size of the le system rst before shrinking the volume, other-
wise you risk losing data. See Chapter 2, Resizing File Systems for details.
lvrename /dev/VG_NAME/LV_NAME /dev/VG_NAME/NEW_LV_NAME

Renames an existing LVM logical volume. It does not change the volume group name.
Tip: Bypassing udev on Volume Creation

In case you want to manage LV device nodes and symbolic links by using LVM instead
of by using udev rules, you can achieve this by disabling notifications from udev with
one of the following methods:
Configure activation/udev_rules = 0 and activation/udev_sync = 0 in /

etc/lvm/lvm.conf .
Note that specifying --nodevsync with the lvcreate command has the same ef-
fect as activation/udev_sync = 0 ; setting activation/udev_rules = 0 is still
required.
Setting the environment variable DM_DISABLE_UDEV :
export DM_DISABLE_UDEV=1
This will also disable notifications from udev. In addition, all udev related settings
from /etc/lvm/lvm.conf will be ignored.
5.8.1 Resizing a Logical Volume with Commands

The lvresize , lvextend , and lvreduce commands are used to resize logical volumes. See
the man pages for each of these commands for syntax and options information. To extend an LV
there must be enough unallocated space available on the VG.
The recommended way to grow or shrink a logical volume is to use the YaST Partitioner. When
using YaST, the size of the le system in the volume will automatically be adjusted, too.
68 Resizing a Logical Volume with Commands SLES 12 SP3

LVs can be extended or shrunk manually while they are being used, but this may not be true for
a le system on them. Extending or shrinking the LV does not automatically modify the size of
le systems in the volume. You must use a different command to grow the le system afterward.
For information about resizing le systems, see Chapter 2, Resizing File Systems.
Ensure that you use the right sequence when manually resizing an LV:
If you extend an LV, you must extend the LV before you attempt to grow the le system.
If you shrink an LV, you must shrink the le system before you attempt to shrink the LV.
To extend the size of a logical volume:
2. If the logical volume contains an Ext2 or Ext4 le system, which do not support online
growing, dismount it. In case it contains le systems that are hosted for a virtual machine
(such as a Xen VM), shut down the VM rst.
3. At the terminal console prompt, enter the following command to grow the size of the
logical volume:
sudo lvextend -L +SIZE /dev/VG_NAME/LV_NAME
For SIZE , specify the amount of space you want to add to the logical volume, such as 10
GB. Replace /dev/VG_NAME/LV_NAME with the Linux path to the logical volume, such as
/dev/LOCAL/DATA . For example:
sudo lvextend -L +10GB /dev/vg1/v1
4. Adjust the size of the le system. See Chapter 2, Resizing File Systems for details.
5. In case you have dismounted the le system, mount it again.
For example, to extend an LV with a (mounted and active) Btrfs on it by 10 GB:
sudo lvextend −L +10G /dev/LOCAL/DATA

sudo btrfs filesystem resize +10G /dev/LOCAL/DATA
To shrink the size of a logical volume:
69 Resizing a Logical Volume with Commands SLES 12 SP3

2. If the logical volume does not contain a Btrfs le system, dismount it. In case it contains
le systems that are hosted for a virtual machine (such as a Xen VM), shut down the VM
rst. Note that volumes with the XFS le system cannot be reduced in size.
3. Adjust the size of the le system. See Chapter 2, Resizing File Systems for details.
4. At the terminal console prompt, enter the following command to shrink the size of the
logical volume to the size of the le system:
sudo lvreduce /dev/VG_NAME/LV_NAME
5. In case you have unmounted the le system, mount it again.
For example, to shrink an LV with a Btrfs on it by 5 GB:
sudo btrfs filesystem resize -size 5G /dev/LOCAL/DATA

sudo lvreduce /dev/LOCAL/DATA
Tip: Resizing the Volume and the File System with a

Single Command
Starting with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1, lvextend , lvresize , and lvreduce
support the option --resizefs which will not only change the size of the volume, but
will also resize the le system. Therefore the examples for lvextend and lvreduce
shown above can alternatively be run as follows:
sudo lvextend --resizefs −L +10G /dev/LOCAL/DATA

sudo lvreduce --resizefs -L -5G /dev/LOCAL/DATA
Note that the --resizefs is supported for the following le systems: ext2/3/4, reiserfs,
Btrfs, XFS. Resizing Btrfs with this option is currently only available on SUSE Linux En-
terprise Server, since it is not yet accepted upstream.
5.8.2 Dynamic Aggregation of LVM Metadata via lvmetad

Most LVM commands require an accurate view of the LVM metadata stored on the disk devices
in the system. With the current LVM design, if this information is not available, LVM must scan
all the physical disk devices in the system. This requires a significant amount of I/O operations
in systems that have many disks. In case a disk fails to respond, LVM commands might run into
a timeout while waiting for the disk.
70 Dynamic Aggregation of LVM Metadata via lvmetad SLES 12 SP3

Dynamic aggregation of LVM metadata via lvmetad provides a solution for this problem. The
purpose of the lvmetad daemon is to eliminate the need for this scanning by dynamically
aggregating metadata information each time the status of a device changes. These events are
signaled to lvmetad by udev rules. If the daemon is not running, LVM performs a scan as it
normally would do.
This feature is enabled by default. In case it is disabled on your system, proceed as follows to
enable it:
2. Stop the lvmetad daemon:
sudo systemctl stop lvm2-lvmetad
3. Edit /etc/lvm/lvm.conf and set use_lvmetad to 1 :
use_lvmetad = 1
4. Restart the lvmetad daemon:
sudo systemctl start lvm2-lvmetad
5.8.3 Using LVM Cache Volumes

LVM supports the use of fast block devices (such as an SSD device) as write-back or write-
through caches for large slower block devices. The cache logical volume type uses a small and
fast LV to improve the performance of a large and slow LV.
To set up LVM caching, you need to create two logical volumes on the caching device. A large
one is used for the caching itself, a smaller volume is used to store the caching metadata. These
two volumes need to be part of the same volume group as the original volume. When these
volumes are created, they need to be converted into a cache pool which needs to be attached
to the original volume:
PROCEDURE 5.2: SETTING UP A CACHED LOGICAL VOLUME
1. Create the original volume (on a slow device) if not already existing.
2. Add the physical volume (from a fast device) to the same volume group the original volume
is part of and create the cache data volume on the physical volume.
71 Using LVM Cache Volumes SLES 12 SP3

3. Create the cache metadata volume. The size should be 1/1000 of the size of the cache
data volume, with a minimum size of 8 MB.
4. Combine the cache data volume and metadata volume into a cache pool volume:
lvconvert --type cache-pool --poolmetadata VOLUME_GROUP/

METADATA_VOLUME VOLUME_GROUP/CACHING_VOLUME
5. Attach the cache pool to the original volume:
lvconvert --type cache --cachepool VOLUME_GROUP/CACHING_VOLUME VOLUME_GROUP/

ORIGINAL_VOLUME
For more information on LVM caching, see the lvmcache(7) man page.
5.9 Tagging LVM2 Storage Objects

A tag is an unordered keyword or term assigned to the metadata of a storage object. Tagging
allows you to classify collections of LVM storage objects in ways that you nd useful by attaching
an unordered list of tags to their metadata.
5.9.1 Using LVM2 Tags

After you tag the LVM2 storage objects, you can use the tags in commands to accomplish the
following tasks:
Select LVM objects for processing according to the presence or absence of specific tags.
Use tags in the configuration le to control which volume groups and logical volumes are
activated on a server.
Override settings in a global configuration le by specifying tags in the command.
A tag can be used in place of any command line LVM object reference that accepts:
a list of objects
a single object as long as the tag expands to a single object
Replacing the object name with a tag is not supported everywhere yet. After the arguments are
expanded, duplicate arguments in a list are resolved by removing the duplicate arguments, and
retaining the rst instance of each argument.
72 Tagging LVM2 Storage Objects SLES 12 SP3

Wherever there might be ambiguity of argument type, you must prefix a tag with the commercial
at sign (@) character, such as @mytag . Elsewhere, using the “@” prefix is optional.
5.9.2 Requirements for Creating LVM2 Tags

Consider the following requirements when using tags with LVM:
Supported Characters
An LVM tag word can contain the ASCII uppercase characters A to Z, lowercase characters
a to z, numbers 0 to 9, underscore (_), plus (+), hyphen (-), and period (.). The word
cannot begin with a hyphen. The maximum length is 128 characters.
Supported Storage Objects

You can tag LVM2 physical volumes, volume groups, logical volumes, and logical volume
segments. PV tags are stored in its volume group’s metadata. Deleting a volume group also
deletes the tags in the orphaned physical volume. Snapshots cannot be tagged, but their
origin can be tagged.
LVM1 objects cannot be tagged because the disk format does not support it.
5.9.3 Command Line Tag Syntax

--addtag TAG_INFO
Add a tag to (or tag) an LVM2 storage object. Example:
sudo vgchange --addtag @db1 vg1
--deltag TAG_INFO
Remove a tag from (or untag) an LVM2 storage object. Example:
sudo vgchange --deltag @db1 vg1
--tag TAG_INFO
Specify the tag to use to narrow the list of volume groups or logical volumes to be activated
or deactivated.
Enter the following to activate the volume if it has a tag that matches the tag provided
(example):
sudo lvchange -ay --tag @db1 vg1/vol2
73 Requirements for Creating LVM2 Tags SLES 12 SP3

5.9.4 Configuration File Syntax
The following sections show example configurations for certain use cases.
5.9.4.1 Enabling Host Name Tags in the lvm.conf File

Add the following code to the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le to enable host tags that are defined
separately on host in a /etc/lvm/lvm_<HOSTNAME>.conf le.
tags {
# Enable hostname tags
hosttags = 1
}
You place the activation code in the /etc/lvm/lvm_<HOSTNAME>.conf le on the host. See
Section 5.9.4.3, “Defining Activation”.
5.9.4.2 Defining Tags for Host Names in the lvm.conf File
tags {
tag1 { }
# Tag does not require a match to be set.
tag2 {
# If no exact match, tag is not set.
host_list = [ "hostname1", "hostname2" ]
}
}
5.9.4.3 Defining Activation

You can modify the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le to activate LVM logical volumes based on tags.
In a text editor, add the following code to the le:
activation {
volume_list = [ "vg1/lvol0", "@database" ]
}
Replace @database with your tag. Use "@*" to match the tag against any tag set on the host.
74 Configuration File Syntax SLES 12 SP3

The activation command matches against VGNAME , VGNAME/LVNAME , or @ TAG set in the meta-
data of volume groups and logical volumes. A volume group or logical volume is activated only
if a metadata tag matches. The default if there is no match, is not to activate.
If volume_list is not present and tags are defined on the host, then it activates the volume
group or logical volumes only if a host tag matches a metadata tag.
If volume_list is defined, but empty, and no tags are defined on the host, then it does not
activate.
If volume_list is undefined, it imposes no limits on LV activation (all are allowed).
5.9.4.4 Defining Activation in Multiple Host Name Configuration Files

You can use the activation code in a host’s configuration le ( /etc/lvm/
lvm_<HOST_TAG>.conf ) when host tags are enabled in the lvm.conf le. For example, a server
has two configuration les in the /etc/lvm/ directory:
lvm.conf
lvm_<HOST_TAG>.conf
At start-up, load the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le, and process any tag settings in the le. If any host
tags were defined, it loads the related /etc/lvm/lvm_<HOST_TAG>.conf le. When it searches
for a specific configuration le entry, it searches the host tag le rst, then the lvm.conf le,
and stops at the rst match. Within the lvm_<HOST_TAG>.conf le, use the reverse order that
tags were set in. This allows the le for the last tag set to be searched rst. New tags set in the
host tag le will trigger additional configuration le loads.
5.9.5 Using Tags for a Simple Activation Control in a Cluster

You can set up a simple host name activation control by enabling the hostname_tags option
in the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le. Use the same le on every machine in a cluster so that it is
a global setting.
1. In a text editor, add the following code to the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le:
tags {
hostname_tags = 1
}
2. Replicate the le to all hosts in the cluster.
75 Using Tags for a Simple Activation Control in a Cluster SLES 12 SP3

3. From any machine in the cluster, add db1 to the list of machines that activate vg1/lvol2 :
sudo lvchange --addtag @db1 vg1/lvol2
4. On the db1 server, enter the following to activate it:
sudo lvchange -ay vg1/vol2
5.9.6 Using Tags to Activate On Preferred Hosts in a Cluster

The examples in this section demonstrate two methods to accomplish the following:
Activate volume group vg1 only on the database hosts db1 and db2 .
Activate volume group vg2 only on the le server host fs1 .
Activate nothing initially on the le server backup host fsb1 , but be prepared for it to
take over from the le server host fs1 .
5.9.6.1 Option 1: Centralized Admin and Static Configuration Replicated

Between Hosts
In the following solution, the single configuration le is replicated among multiple hosts.
1. Add the @database tag to the metadata of volume group vg1 . In a terminal console, enter
sudo vgchange --addtag @database vg1
2. Add the @fileserver tag to the metadata of volume group vg2 . In a terminal console,
enter
sudo vgchange --addtag @fileserver vg2
3. In a text editor, modify the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le with the following code to define
the @database , @fileserver , @fileserverbackup tags.
tags {
database {
host_list = [ "db1", "db2" ]
}
fileserver {
76 Using Tags to Activate On Preferred Hosts in a Cluster SLES 12 SP3

host_list = [ "fs1" ]
}
fileserverbackup {
host_list = [ "fsb1" ]
}
}
activation {
# Activate only if host has a tag that matches a metadata tag
volume_list = [ "@*" ]
}
4. Replicate the modified /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le to the four hosts: db1 , db2 , fs1 , and
fsb1 .
5. If the le server host goes down, vg2 can be brought up on fsb1 by entering the following
commands in a terminal console on any node:
sudo vgchange --addtag @fileserverbackup vg2

sudo vgchange -ay vg2
5.9.6.2 Option 2: Localized Admin and Configuration

In the following solution, each host holds locally the information about which classes of volume
to activate.
1. Add the @database tag to the metadata of volume group vg1 . In a terminal console, enter
sudo vgchange --addtag @database vg1
2. Add the @fileserver tag to the metadata of volume group vg2 . In a terminal console,
enter
sudo vgchange --addtag @fileserver vg2
3. Enable host tags in the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le:
a. In a text editor, modify the /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le with the following code to
enable host tag configuration les.
tags {
hosttags = 1
}

b. Replicate the modified /etc/lvm/lvm.conf le to the four hosts: db1 , db2 , fs1 ,
and fsb1 .
4. On host db1 , create an activation configuration le for the database host db1 . In a text
editor, create /etc/lvm/lvm_db1.conf le and add the following code:
activation {
volume_list = [ "@database" ]
}
5. On host db2 , create an activation configuration le for the database host db2 . In a text
editor, create /etc/lvm/lvm_db2.conf le and add the following code:
activation {
volume_list = [ "@database" ]
}
6. On host fs1, create an activation configuration le for the le server host fs1 . In a text
editor, create /etc/lvm/lvm_fs1.conf le and add the following code:
activation {
volume_list = [ "@fileserver" ]
}
7. If the le server host fs1 goes down, to bring up a spare le server host fsb1 as a le
server:
a. On host fsb1 , create an activation configuration le for the host fsb1 . In a text
editor, create /etc/lvm/lvm_fsb1.conf le and add the following code:
activation {
volume_list = [ "@fileserver" ]
}
b. In a terminal console, enter one of the following commands:
sudo vgchange -ay vg2

sudo vgchange -ay @fileserver

6 LVM Volume Snapshots
A Logical Volume Manager (LVM) logical volume snapshot is a copy-on-write technology that
monitors changes to an existing volume’s data blocks so that when a write is made to one of
the blocks, the block’s value at the snapshot time is copied to a snapshot volume. In this way, a
point-in-time copy of the data is preserved until the snapshot volume is deleted.
6.1 Understanding Volume Snapshots

A le system snapshot contains metadata about itself and data blocks from a source logical
volume that has changed since the snapshot was taken. When you access data via the snapshot,
you see a point-in-time copy of the source logical volume. There is no need to restore data from
backup media or to overwrite the changed data.
Important: Mounting Volumes with Snapshots

During the snapshot’s lifetime, the snapshot must be mounted before its source logical
volume can be mounted.
LVM volume snapshots allow you to create a backup from a point-in-time view of the le system.
The snapshot is created instantly and persists until you delete it. You can back up the le system
from the snapshot while the volume itself continues to be available for users. The snapshot
initially contains some metadata about the snapshot, but no actual data from the source logical
volume. Snapshot uses copy-on-write technology to detect when data changes in an original
data block. It copies the value it held when the snapshot was taken to a block in the snapshot
volume, then allows the new data to be stored in the source block. As more blocks change from
their original value on the source logical volume, the snapshot size grows.
When you are sizing the snapshot, consider how much data is expected to change on the source
logical volume and how long you plan to keep the snapshot. The amount of space that you
allocate for a snapshot volume can vary, depending on the size of the source logical volume,
how long you plan to keep the snapshot, and the number of data blocks that are expected to
change during the snapshot’s lifetime. The snapshot volume cannot be resized after it is created.
As a guide, create a snapshot volume that is about 10% of the size of the original logical volume.
If you anticipate that every block in the source logical volume will change at least one time
79 Understanding Volume Snapshots SLES 12 SP3

before you delete the snapshot, then the snapshot volume should be at least as large as the
source logical volume plus some additional space for metadata about the snapshot volume. Less
space is required if the data changes infrequently or if the expected lifetime is sufficiently brief.
In LVM2, snapshots are read/write by default. When you write data directly to the snapshot,
that block is marked in the exception table as used, and never gets copied from the source
logical volume. You can mount the snapshot volume, and test application changes by writing
data directly to the snapshot volume. You can easily discard the changes by dismounting the
snapshot, removing the snapshot, and then remounting the source logical volume.
In a virtual guest environment, you can use the snapshot function for LVM logical volumes you
create on the server’s disks, as you would on a physical server.
In a virtual host environment, you can use the snapshot function to back up the virtual machine’s
storage back-end, or to test changes to a virtual machine image, such as for patches or upgrades,
without modifying the source logical volume. The virtual machine must be using an LVM logical
volume as its storage back-end, as opposed to using a virtual disk le. You can mount the LVM
logical volume and use it to store the virtual machine image as a le-backed disk, or you can
assign the LVM logical volume as a physical disk to write to it as a block device.
Beginning in SLES 11 SP3, an LVM logical volume snapshot can be thinly provisioned. Thin
provisioning is assumed if you create a snapshot without a specified size. The snapshot is created
as a thin volume that uses space as needed from a thin pool. A thin snapshot volume has the same
characteristics as any other thin volume. You can independently activate the volume, extend
the volume, rename the volume, remove the volume, and even snapshot the volume.
Important: Thinly Provisioned Volumes in a Cluster

To use thinly provisioned snapshots in a cluster, the source logical volume and its snap-
shots must be managed in a single cluster resource. This allows the volume and its snap-
shots to always be mounted exclusively on the same node.
When you are done with the snapshot, it is important to remove it from the system. A snapshot
eventually lls up completely as data blocks change on the source logical volume. When the
snapshot is full, it is disabled, which prevents you from remounting the source logical volume.
If you create multiple snapshots for a source logical volume, remove the snapshots in a last
created, rst deleted order.
80 Understanding Volume Snapshots SLES 12 SP3

6.2 Creating Linux Snapshots with LVM
The Logical Volume Manager (LVM) can be used for creating snapshots of your le system.
Open a terminal console and enter
sudo lvcreate -s [-L <size>] -n SNAP_VOLUME SOURCE_VOLUME_PATH
If no size is specified, the snapshot is created as a thin snapshot.

For example:
sudo lvcreate -s -L 1G -n linux01-snap /dev/lvm/linux01
The snapshot is created as the /dev/lvm/linux01-snap volume.
6.3 Monitoring a Snapshot

sudo lvdisplay SNAP_VOLUME
For example:
tux > sudo lvdisplay /dev/vg01/linux01-snap
--- Logical volume ---

LV Name /dev/lvm/linux01
VG Name vg01
LV UUID QHVJYh-PR3s-A4SG-s4Aa-MyWN-Ra7a-HL47KL
LV Write Access read/write
LV snapshot status active destination for /dev/lvm/linux01
LV Status available
# open 0
LV Size 80.00 GB
Current LE 1024
COW-table size 8.00 GB
COW-table LE 512
Allocated to snapshot 30%
Snapshot chunk size 8.00 KB
Segments 1
Allocation inherit
Read ahead sectors 0
Block device 254:5
81 Creating Linux Snapshots with LVM SLES 12 SP3

6.4 Deleting Linux Snapshots
sudo lvremove SNAP_VOLUME_PATH
For example:
sudo lvremove /dev/lvmvg/linux01-snap
6.5 Using Snapshots for Virtual Machines on a Virtual

Host
Using an LVM logical volume for a virtual machine’s back-end storage allows flexibility in ad-
ministering the underlying device, such as making it easier to move storage objects, create snap-
shots, and back up data. You can mount the LVM logical volume and use it to store the virtual
machine image as a le-backed disk, or you can assign the LVM logical volume as a physical
disk to write to it as a block device. You can create a virtual disk image on the LVM logical
volume, then snapshot the LVM.
You can leverage the read/write capability of the snapshot to create different instances of a
virtual machine, where the changes are made to the snapshot for a particular virtual machine
instance. You can create a virtual disk image on an LVM logical volume, snapshot the source
logical volume, and modify the snapshot for a particular virtual machine instance. You can create
another snapshot of the source logical volume, and modify it for a different virtual machine
instance. The majority of the data for the different virtual machine instances resides with the
image on the source logical volume.
You can also leverage the read/write capability of the snapshot to preserve the virtual disk
image while testing patches or upgrades in the guest environment. You create a snapshot of the
LVM volume that contains the image, and then run the virtual machine on the snapshot location.
The source logical volume is unchanged, and all changes for that machine are written to the
snapshot. To return to the source logical volume of the virtual machine image, you power o the
virtual machine, then remove the snapshot from the source logical volume. To start over, you re-
create the snapshot, mount the snapshot, and restart the virtual machine on the snapshot image.
82 Deleting Linux Snapshots SLES 12 SP3

The following procedure uses a le-backed virtual disk image and the Xen hypervisor. You can
adapt the procedure in this section for other hypervisors that run on the SUSE Linux Enterprise
platform, such as KVM. To run a le-backed virtual machine image from the snapshot volume:
1. Ensure that the source logical volume that contains the le-backed virtual machine image
is mounted, such as at mount point /var/lib/xen/images/<IMAGE_NAME> .
2. Create a snapshot of the LVM logical volume with enough space to store the differences
that you expect.
sudo lvcreate -s -L 20G -n myvm-snap /dev/lvmvg/myvm
If no size is specified, the snapshot is created as a thin snapshot.
3. Create a mount point where you will mount the snapshot volume.
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/xen/vm/myvm-snap
4. Mount the snapshot volume at the mount point you created.
sudo mount -t auto /dev/lvmvg/myvm-snap /mnt/xen/vm/myvm-snap
5. In a text editor, copy the configuration le for the source virtual machine, modify the
paths to point to the le-backed image le on the mounted snapshot volume, and save
the le such as /etc/xen/myvm-snap.cfg .
6. Start the virtual machine using the mounted snapshot volume of the virtual machine.
sudo xm create -c /etc/xen/myvm-snap.cfg
7. (Optional) Remove the snapshot, and use the unchanged virtual machine image on the
source logical volume.
sudo unmount /mnt/xenvms/myvm-snap

sudo lvremove -f /dev/lvmvg/mylvm-snap
8. (Optional) Repeat this process as desired.
83 Using Snapshots for Virtual Machines on a Virtual Host SLES 12 SP3

6.6 Merging a Snapshot with the Source Logical
Volume to Revert Changes or Roll Back to a Previous
State
Snapshots can be useful if you need to roll back or restore data on a volume to a previous state.
For example, you might need to revert data changes that resulted from an administrator error
or a failed or undesirable package installation or upgrade.
You can use the lvconvert --merge command to revert the changes made to an LVM logical
volume. The merging begins as follows:
If both the source logical volume and snapshot volume are not open, the merge begins
immediately.
If the source logical volume or snapshot volume are open, the merge starts the rst time
either the source logical volume or snapshot volume are activated and both are closed.
If the source logical volume cannot be closed, such as the root le system, the merge is
deferred until the next time the server reboots and the source logical volume is activated.
If the source logical volume contains a virtual machine image, you must shut down the
virtual machine, deactivate the source logical volume and snapshot volume (by dismount-
ing them in that order), and then issue the merge command. Because the source logical
volume is automatically remounted and the snapshot volume is deleted when the merge
is complete, you should not restart the virtual machine until after the merge is complete.
After the merge is complete, you use the resulting logical volume for the virtual machine.
After a merge begins, the merge continues automatically after server restarts until it is complete.
A new snapshot cannot be created for the source logical volume while a merge is in progress.
While the merge is in progress, reads or writes to the source logical volume are transparently
redirected to the snapshot that is being merged. This allows users to immediately view and
access the data as it was when the snapshot was created. They do not need to wait for the merge
to complete.
When the merge is complete, the source logical volume contains the same data as it did when
the snapshot was taken, plus any data changes made after the merge began. The resulting logical
volume has the source logical volume’s name, minor number, and UUID. The source logical
volume is automatically remounted, and the snapshot volume is removed.
1. Open a terminal console and enter
Merging a Snapshot with the Source Logical Volume to Revert Changes or Roll Back to a Previ-
84 ous State SLES 12 SP3

sudo lvconvert --merge [-b] [-i SECONDS] [SNAP_VOLUME_PATH[...snapN]|@VOLUME_TAG]
You can specify one or multiple snapshots on the command line. You can alternatively tag
multiple source logical volumes with the same volume tag then specify @<VOLUME_TAG>
on the command line. The snapshots for the tagged volumes are merged to their respective
source logical volumes. For information about tagging logical volumes, see Section 5.9,
“Tagging LVM2 Storage Objects”.
The options include:
-b,
--background
Run the daemon in the background. This allows multiple specified snapshots to be
merged concurrently in parallel.
-i,
--interval < SECONDS >
Report progress as a percentage at regular intervals. Specify the interval in seconds.
For more information about this command, see the lvconvert(8) man page.
For example:
sudo lvconvert --merge /dev/lvmvg/linux01-snap
This command merges /dev/lvmvg/linux01-snap into its source logical volume.
sudo lvconvert --merge @mytag
If lvol1 , lvol2 , and lvol3 are all tagged with mytag , each snapshot volume is merged
serially with its respective source logical volume; that is: lvol1 , then lvol2 , then lvol3 .
If the --background option is specified, the snapshots for the respective tagged logical
volume are merged concurrently in parallel.
2. (Optional) If both the source logical volume and snapshot volume are open and they can
be closed, you can manually deactivate and activate the source logical volume to get the
merge to start immediately.
sudo umount ORIGINAL_VOLUME

sudo lvchange -an ORIGINAL_VOLUME
sudo lvchange -ay ORIGINAL_VOLUME
sudo mount ORIGINAL_VOLUME MOUNT_POINT

For example:
sudo umount /dev/lvmvg/lvol01

sudo lvchange -an /dev/lvmvg/lvol01
sudo lvchange -ay /dev/lvmvg/lvol01
sudo mount /dev/lvmvg/lvol01 /mnt/lvol01
3. (Optional) If both the source logical volume and snapshot volume are open and the source
logical volume cannot be closed, such as the root le system, you can restart the server
and mount the source logical volume to get the merge to start immediately after the restart.

III Software RAID
7 Software RAID Configuration 88
8 Configuring Software RAID for the Root Partition 96
9 Creating Software RAID 10 Devices 101
10 Creating a Degraded RAID Array 116
11 Resizing Software RAID Arrays with mdadm 118
12 Storage Enclosure LED Utilities for MD Software RAIDs 127

7 Software RAID Configuration
The purpose of RAID (redundant array of independent disks) is to combine several hard disk
partitions into one large virtual hard disk to optimize performance, data security, or both. Most
RAID controllers use the SCSI protocol because it can address a larger number of hard disks
in a more effective way than the IDE protocol and is more suitable for parallel processing of
commands. There are some RAID controllers that support IDE or SATA hard disks. Software
RAID provides the advantages of RAID systems without the additional cost of hardware RAID
controllers. However, this requires some CPU time and has memory requirements that make it
unsuitable for real high performance computers.
Important: RAID on Cluster File Systems

Software RAID underneath clustered le systems needs to be set up using a cluster mul-
ti-device (Cluster MD). Refer to the High Availability Extension documentation at https://
www.suse.com/documentation/sle-ha-12/book_sleha/data/cha_ha_cluster-md.html .
SUSE Linux Enterprise offers the option of combining several hard disks into one soft RAID
system. RAID implies several strategies for combining several hard disks in a RAID system, each
with different goals, advantages, and characteristics. These variations are commonly known as
RAID levels.
7.1 Understanding RAID Levels

This section describes common RAID levels 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and nested RAID levels.
7.1.1 RAID 0
This level improves the performance of your data access by spreading out blocks of each le
across multiple disks. Actually, this is not really a RAID, because it does not provide data backup,
but the name RAID 0 for this type of system has become the norm. With RAID 0, two or more
hard disks are pooled together. The performance is very good, but the RAID system is destroyed
and your data lost if even one hard disk fails.
88 Understanding RAID Levels SLES 12 SP3

7.1.2 RAID 1
This level provides adequate security for your data, because the data is copied to another hard
disk 1:1. This is known as hard disk mirroring. If a disk is destroyed, a copy of its contents is
available on another mirrored disk. All disks except one could be damaged without endangering
your data. However, if damage is not detected, damaged data might be mirrored to the correct
disk and the data is corrupted that way. The writing performance suffers a little in the copying
process compared to when using single disk access (10 to 20 percent slower), but read access
is significantly faster in comparison to any one of the normal physical hard disks, because the
data is duplicated so can be scanned in parallel. RAID 1 generally provides nearly twice the read
transaction rate of single disks and almost the same write transaction rate as single disks.
7.1.3 RAID 2 and RAID 3

These are not typical RAID implementations. Level 2 stripes data at the bit level rather than the
block level. Level 3 provides byte-level striping with a dedicated parity disk and cannot service
simultaneous multiple requests. Both levels are rarely used.
7.1.4 RAID 4
Level 4 provides block-level striping like Level 0 combined with a dedicated parity disk. If a
data disk fails, the parity data is used to create a replacement disk. However, the parity disk
might create a bottleneck for write access. Nevertheless, Level 4 is sometimes used.
7.1.5 RAID 5
RAID 5 is an optimized compromise between Level 0 and Level 1 in terms of performance
and redundancy. The hard disk space equals the number of disks used minus one. The data is
distributed over the hard disks as with RAID 0. Parity blocks, created on one of the partitions,
are there for security reasons. They are linked to each other with XOR, enabling the contents
to be reconstructed by the corresponding parity block in case of system failure. With RAID 5,
no more than one hard disk can fail at the same time. If one hard disk fails, it must be replaced
when possible to avoid the risk of losing data.
89 RAID 1 SLES 12 SP3

7.1.6 RAID 6
RAID 6 is essentially an extension of RAID 5 that allows for additional fault tolerance by using
a second independent distributed parity scheme (dual parity). Even if two of the hard disks fail
during the data recovery process, the system continues to be operational, with no data loss.
RAID 6 provides for extremely high data fault tolerance by sustaining multiple simultaneous
drive failures. It handles the loss of any two devices without data loss. Accordingly, it requires
N+2 drives to store N drives worth of data. It requires a minimum of four devices.
The performance for RAID 6 is slightly lower but comparable to RAID 5 in normal mode and
single disk failure mode. It is very slow in dual disk failure mode. A RAID 6 configuration needs
a considerable amount of CPU time and memory for write operations.
TABLE 7.1: COMPARISON OF RAID 5 AND RAID 6
Feature RAID 5 RAID 6
Number of devices N+1, minimum of 3 N+2, minimum of 4
Parity Distributed, single Distributed, dual
Performance Medium impact on write and More impact on sequential

rebuild write than RAID 5
Fault-tolerance Failure of one component Failure of two component

device devices
7.1.7 Nested and Complex RAID Levels

Other RAID levels have been developed, such as RAIDn, RAID 10, RAID 0+1, RAID 30, and
RAID 50. Some are proprietary implementations created by hardware vendors. Examples for
creating RAID 10 configurations can be found in Chapter 9, Creating Software RAID 10 Devices.
7.2 Soft RAID Configuration with YaST

The YaST soft RAID configuration can be reached from the YaST Expert Partitioner. This par-
titioning tool also enables you to edit and delete existing partitions and create new ones that
should be used with soft RAID. These instructions apply on setting up RAID levels 0, 1, 5, and
6. Setting up RAID 10 configurations is explained in Chapter 9, Creating Software RAID 10 Devices.
90 RAID 6 SLES 12 SP3

2. If necessary, create partitions that should be used with your RAID configuration. Do not
format them and set the partition type to 0xFD Linux RAID. When using existing partitions
it is not necessary to change their partition type—YaST will automatically do so. Refer
Partitioner” for details.
It is strongly recommended to use partitions stored on different hard disks to decrease
the risk of losing data if one is defective (RAID 1 and 5) and to optimize the performance
of RAID 0.
For RAID 0 at least two partitions are needed. RAID 1 requires exactly two partitions,
while at least three partitions are required for RAID 5. A RAID 6 setup requires at least
four partitions. It is recommended to use only partitions of the same size because each
segment can contribute only the same amount of space as the smallest sized partition.
3. In the left panel, select RAID.

A list of existing RAID configurations opens in the right panel.
4. At the lower left of the RAID page, click Add RAID.
5. Select a RAID Type and Add an appropriate number of partitions from the Available Devices
dialog.
91 Soft RAID Configuration with YaST SLES 12 SP3

You can optionally assign a RAID Name to your RAID. It will make it available as /dev/
md/NAME . See Section 7.2.1, “RAID Names” for more information.
FIGURE 7.1: EXAMPLE RAID 5 CONFIGURATION
Proceed with Next.
6. Select the Chunk Size and, if applicable, the Parity Algorithm. The optimal chunk size
depends on the type of data and the type of RAID. See https://raid.wiki.kernel.org/in-
dex.php/RAID_setup#Chunk_sizes for more information. More information on parity al-
gorithms can be found with man 8 mdadm when searching for the --layout option. If
unsure, stick with the defaults.
7. Choose a Role for the volume. Your choice here only affects the default values for the
upcoming dialog. They can be changed in the next step. If in doubt, choose Raw Volume
(Unformatted).
8. Under Formatting Options, select Format Partition, then select the File system. The content
of the Options menu depends on the le system. Usually there is no need to change the
defaults.
Under Mounting Options, select Mount partition, then select the mount point. Click Fstab
Options to add special mounting options for the volume.
9. Click Finish.
92 Soft RAID Configuration with YaST SLES 12 SP3

7.2.1 RAID Names

By default, software RAID devices have numeric names following the pattern mdN , where N is
a number. As such they can be accessed as, for example, /dev/md127 and are listed as md127
in /proc/mdstat and /proc/partitions . Working with these names can be clumsy. SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server offers two ways to work around this problem:
Providing a Named Link to the Device

You can optionally specify a name for the RAID device when creating it with YaST or on
the command line with mdadm --create '/dev/md/ NAME '. The device name will still
be mdN , but a link /dev/md/NAME will be created:
tux > ls -og /dev/md

total 0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 8 Dec 9 15:11 myRAID -> ../md127
The device will still be listed as md127 under /proc .
Providing a Named Device

In case a named link to the device is not sufficient for your setup, add the line CREATE
names=yes to /etc/mdadm.conf by running the following command:
sudo echo "CREATE names=yes" >> /etc/mdadm.conf
It will cause names like myRAID to be used as a “real” device name. The device will not
only be accessible at /dev/myRAID , but also be listed as myRAID under /proc . Note that
this will only apply to RAIDs configured after the change to the configuration le. Active
RAIDS will continue to use the mdN names until they get stopped and re-assembled.
Warning: Incompatible Tools

Not all tools may support named RAID devices. In case a tool expects a RAID device
to be named mdN , it will fail to identify the devices.
93 RAID Names SLES 12 SP3

7.3 Troubleshooting Software RAIDs
Check the /proc/mdstat le to nd out whether a RAID partition has been damaged. If a
disk fails, shut down your Linux system and replace the defective hard disk with a new one
partitioned the same way. Then restart your system and enter the command mdadm /dev/mdX
--add /dev/sdX . Replace X with your particular device identifiers. This integrates the hard
disk automatically into the RAID system and fully reconstructs it (for all RAID levels except
for RAID 0).
Although you can access all data during the rebuild, you might encounter some performance
issues until the RAID has been fully rebuilt.
7.3.1 Recovery after Failing Disk is Back Again

There are several reasons a disk included in a RAID array may fail. Here is a list of the most
common ones:
Problems with the disk media.
Disk drive controller failure.
Broken connection to the disk.
In the case of the disk media or controller failure, the device needs to be replaced or repaired.
If a hot-spare was not configured within the RAID, then manual intervention is required.
In the last case, the failed device can be automatically re-added by the mdadm command after
the connection is repaired (which might be automatic).
Because md / mdadm cannot reliably determine what caused the disk failure, it assumes a serious
disk error and treats any failed device as faulty until it is explicitly told that the device is reliable.
Under some circumstances—such as storage devices with the internal RAID array— the connec-
tion problems are very often the cause of the device failure. In such case, you can tell mdadm
that it is safe to automatically --re-add the device after it appears. You can do this by adding
the following line to /etc/mdadm.conf :
POLICY action=re-add
Note that the device will be automatically re-added after re-appearing only if the udev rules
cause mdadm -I DISK_DEVICE_NAME to be run on any device that spontaneously appears (de-
fault behavior), and if write-intent bitmaps are configured (they are by default).
94 Troubleshooting Software RAIDs SLES 12 SP3

If you want this policy to only apply to some devices and not to the others, then the path= option
can be added to the POLICY line in /etc/mdadm.conf to restrict the non-default action to only
selected devices. Wild cards can be used to identify groups of devices. See man 5 mdadm.conf
for more information.
7.4 For More Information

Configuration instructions and more details for soft RAID can be found in the HOWTOs at:
The Linux RAID wiki: https://raid.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Linux_Raid
The Software RAID HOWTO in the /usr/share/doc/packages/mdadm/Soft-

ware-RAID.HOWTO.html le
Linux RAID mailing lists are also available, such as linux-raid at http://marc.info/?l=linux-raid .
95 For More Information SLES 12 SP3

8 Configuring Software RAID for the Root Partition
In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, the Device Mapper RAID tool has been integrated into the
YaST Partitioner. You can use the partitioner at install time to create a software RAID for the
system device that contains your root ( / ) partition. The /boot partition cannot be stored on
a RAID partition unless it is RAID 1.
8.1 Prerequisites for Using a Software RAID Device

for the Root Partition
Ensure that your configuration meets the following requirements:
You need two hard disks to create the RAID 1 mirror device. The hard disks should be
similarly sized. The RAID assumes the size of the smaller drive. The block storage devices
can be any combination of local (in or directly attached to the machine), Fibre Channel
storage subsystems, or iSCSI storage subsystems.
A separate partition for /boot is not required if you install the boot loader in the MBR. If
installing the boot loader in the MBR is not an option, /boot needs to reside on a separate
partition.
For UEFI machines, you need to set up a dedicated /boot/efi partition. It needs to be
VFAT-formatted, and may reside on the RAID 1 device to prevent booting problems in case
the physical disk with /boot/efi fails.
If you are using hardware RAID devices, do not attempt to run software RAIDs on top of it.
If you are using iSCSI target devices, you need to enable the iSCSI initiator support before
you create the RAID device.
If your storage subsystem provides multiple I/O paths between the server and its directly
attached local devices, Fibre Channel devices, or iSCSI devices that you want to use in
the software RAID, you need to enable the multipath support before you create the RAID
device.
96 Prerequisites for Using a Software RAID Device for the Root Partition SLES 12 SP3
8.2 Setting Up the System with a Software RAID
Device for the Root (/) Partition
1. Start the installation with YaST and proceed as described in Book “Deployment Guide”,
Chapter 6 “Installation with YaST” until you reach the Suggested Partitioning step.
2. Click Expert Partitioner to open the custom partitioning tool.
3. (Optional) If there are iSCSI target devices that you want to use, you need to enable the
iSCSI Initiator software by choosing Configure Configure iSCSI from the lower right section
of the screen. Refer to Chapter 14, Mass Storage over IP Networks: iSCSI for further details.
4. (Optional) If there are multiple I/O paths to the devices that you want to use you need to
enable multipath support by choosing Configure Configure Multipath Yes from the lower
right section of the screen.
5. (Optional) In case you have neither configured iSCSI or Multipath, the default proposal
settings are shown. Click Rescan Devices to delete them.
6. Set up the 0xFD Linux RAID format for each of the devices you want to use for the software
RAID. You should use RAID for / , /boot/efi , or swap partitions.
a. In the left panel, select Hard Disks and select the device you want to use, then click
Add Partition.
b. Under New Partition Type, select Primary Partition, then click Next.
c. Under New Partition Size, specify the size to use, then click Next.
d. Under Role, choose Raw Volume (unformatted).
e. Select Do not format and set the File SystemID to 0xFD Linux RAID.
f. Click Finish and repeat these instructions for the second partition.
97 Setting Up the System with a Software RAID Device for the Root (/) Partition SLES 12 SP3
7. Create the RAID device for the / partition.
a. In the left panel, select RAID and then Add RAID.
b. Set the desired RAID Type for the / partition and the RAID name to system .
c. Select the two RAID devices you prepared in the previous step from the Available
Devices section and Add them.
Proceed with Next.
d. Under RAID Options, select the chunk size from the drop-down box. Sticking with
the default is a safe choice.
e. Under Role, select Operating System and proceed with Finish.
f. Select the File System and set the mount point to / . Leave the dialog with Finish .
8. The software RAID device is managed by Device Mapper, and creates a device under the
/dev/md/system path.
9. Optionally for UEFI machines, use similar steps to create the /boot/efi mounted parti-
tion. Remember that only RAID 1 is supported for /boot/efi , and the partition needs to
be formatted with the FAT le system.
FIGURE 8.1: /, /BOOT/EFI, AND SWAP ON RAIDS
10. Click Accept to leave the partitioner.

The new proposal appears on the Suggested Partitioning page.
11. Continue with the installation. For UEFI machines with a separate /boot/efi partition,
click Booting on the Installation Settings screen and set GRUB2 for EFI as the Boot Loader.
Check that the Enable Secure Boot Support option is activated.
Whenever you reboot your server, Device Mapper is started at boot time so that the soft-
ware RAID is automatically recognized, and the operating system on the root (/) partition
can be started.
9 Creating Software RAID 10 Devices
This section describes how to set up nested and complex RAID 10 devices. A RAID 10 device
consists of nested RAID 1 (mirroring) and RAID 0 (striping) arrays. Nested RAIDs can either be
set up as striped mirrors (RAID 1+0) or as mirrored stripes (RAID 0+1). A complex RAID 10
setup also combines mirrors and stripes and additional data security by supporting a higher data
redundancy level.
9.1 Creating Nested RAID 10 Devices with mdadm

A nested RAID device consists of a RAID array that uses another RAID array as its basic element,
instead of using physical disks. The goal of this configuration is to improve the performance and
fault tolerance of the RAID. Setting up nested RAID levels is not supported by YaST, but can be
done by using the mdadm command line tool.
Based on the order of nesting, two different nested RAIDs can be set up. This document uses
the following terminology:
RAID 1+0: RAID 1 (mirror) arrays are built rst, then combined to form a RAID 0 (stripe)
array.
RAID 0+1: RAID 0 (stripe) arrays are built rst, then combined to form a RAID 1 (mirror)
array.
The following table describes the advantages and disadvantages of RAID 10 nesting as 1+0
versus 0+1. It assumes that the storage objects you use reside on different disks, each with a
dedicated I/O capability.
TABLE 9.1: NESTED RAID LEVELS
RAID Level Description Performance and Fault Tolerance
10 (1+0) RAID 0 (stripe) built RAID 1+0 provides high levels of I/O perfor-
with RAID 1 (mirror) mance, data redundancy, and disk fault toler-
arrays ance. Because each member device in the RAID
0 is mirrored individually, multiple disk failures
can be tolerated and data remains available as
long as the disks that fail are in different mirrors.
101 Creating Nested RAID 10 Devices with mdadm SLES 12 SP3

RAID Level Description Performance and Fault Tolerance
You can optionally configure a spare for each un-

derlying mirrored array, or configure a spare to
serve a spare group that serves all mirrors.
10 (0+1) RAID 1 (mirror) built RAID 0+1 provides high levels of I/O perfor-
with RAID 0 (stripe) ar- mance and data redundancy, but slightly less
rays fault tolerance than a 1+0. If multiple disks fail
on one side of the mirror, then the other mirror
is available. However, if disks are lost concur-
rently on both sides of the mirror, all data is lost.
This solution offers less disk fault tolerance than
a 1+0 solution, but if you need to perform main-
tenance or maintain the mirror on a different
site, you can take an entire side of the mirror of-
fline and still have a fully functional storage de-
vice. Also, if you lose the connection between the
two sites, either site operates independently of
the other. That is not true if you stripe the mir-
rored segments, because the mirrors are managed
at a lower level.
If a device fails, the mirror on that side fails be-
cause RAID 1 is not fault-tolerant. Create a new
RAID 0 to replace the failed side, then resynchro-
nize the mirrors.
9.1.1 Creating Nested RAID 10 (1+0) with mdadm

A nested RAID 1+0 is built by creating two or more RAID 1 (mirror) devices, then using them
as component devices in a RAID 0.
102 Creating Nested RAID 10 (1+0) with mdadm SLES 12 SP3

Important: Multipathing
If you need to manage multiple connections to the devices, you must configure multipath
I/O before configuring the RAID devices. For information, see Chapter 17, Managing Mul-
tipath I/O for Devices.
The procedure in this section uses the device names shown in the following table. Ensure that
you modify the device names with the names of your own devices.
TABLE 9.2: SCENARIO FOR CREATING A RAID 10 (1+0) BY NESTING
Raw Devices RAID 1 (mirror) RAID 1+0 (striped mir-

rors)
/dev/sdb1 /dev/md0 /dev/md2

/dev/sdc1
/dev/sdd1 /dev/md1
/dev/sde1
2. If necessary, create four 0xFD Linux RAID partitions of equal size using a disk partitioner
such as parted.
3. Create two software RAID 1 devices, using two different devices for each device. At the
command prompt, enter these two commands:
sudo mdadm --create /dev/md0 --run --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1

sudo mdadm --create /dev/md1 --run --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sdd1 /dev/sde1
4. Create the nested RAID 1+0 device. At the command prompt, enter the following com-
mand using the software RAID 1 devices you created in the previous step:
sudo mdadm --create /dev/md2 --run --level=0 --chunk=64 \

--raid-devices=2 /dev/md0 /dev/md1
The default chunk size is 64 KB.
5. Create a le system on the RAID 1+0 device /dev/md2 , for example an XFS le system:
sudo mkfs.xfs /dev/md2

Modify the command to use a different le system.
6. Edit the /etc/mdadm.conf le or create it, if it does not exist (for example by running
sudo vi /etc/mdadm.conf ). Add the following lines (if the le already exists, the rst
line probably already exists).
DEVICE containers partitions

ARRAY /dev/md0 UUID=UUID
The UUID of each device can be retrieved with the following command:
sudo mdadm -D /dev/DEVICE | grep UUID
7. Edit the /etc/fstab le to add an entry for the RAID 1+0 device /dev/md2 . The fol-
lowing example shows an entry for a RAID device with the XFS le system and /data
as a mount point.
/dev/md2 /data xfs defaults 1 2
8. Mount the RAID device:
sudo mount /data
9.1.2 Creating Nested RAID 10 (0+1) with mdadm

A nested RAID 0+1 is built by creating two to four RAID 0 (striping) devices, then mirroring
them as component devices in a RAID 1.
Important: Multipathing
If you need to manage multiple connections to the devices, you must configure multipath
I/O before configuring the RAID devices. For information, see Chapter 17, Managing Mul-
tipath I/O for Devices.
In this configuration, spare devices cannot be specified for the underlying RAID 0 devices be-
cause RAID 0 cannot tolerate a device loss. If a device fails on one side of the mirror, you must
create a replacement RAID 0 device, than add it into the mirror.

TABLE 9.3: SCENARIO FOR CREATING A RAID 10 (0+1) BY NESTING
Raw Devices RAID 0 (stripe) RAID 0+1 (mirrored

stripes)
/dev/sdb1 /dev/md0 /dev/md2

/dev/sdc1
/dev/sdd1 /dev/md1
/dev/sde1
2. If necessary, create four 0xFD Linux RAID partitions of equal size using a disk partitioner
such as parted.
3. Create two software RAID 0 devices, using two different devices for each RAID 0 device.
At the command prompt, enter these two commands:

--raid-devices=2 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1
--raid-devices=2 /dev/sdd1 /dev/sde1
The default chunk size is 64 KB.
4. Create the nested RAID 0+1 device. At the command prompt, enter the following com-
mand using the software RAID 0 devices you created in the previous step:
sudo mdadm --create /dev/md2 --run --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/md0 /dev/md1
5. Create a le system on the RAID 1+0 device /dev/md2 , for example an XFS le system:
sudo vi /etc/mdadm.conf ). Add the following lines (if the le exists, the rst line
probably already exists, too).

The UUID of each device can be retrieved with the following command:
sudo mdadm -D /dev/DEVICE | grep UUID
7. Edit the /etc/fstab le to add an entry for the RAID 1+0 device /dev/md2 . The fol-
lowing example shows an entry for a RAID device with the XFS le system and /data
as a mount point.
sudo mount /data
9.2 Creating a Complex RAID 10

YaST (and mdadm with the --level=10 option) creates a single complex software RAID 10
that combines features of both RAID 0 (striping) and RAID 1 (mirroring). Multiple copies of all
data blocks are arranged on multiple drives following a striping discipline. Component devices
should be the same size.
The complex RAID 10 is similar in purpose to a nested RAID 10 (1+0), but differs in the fol-
lowing ways:
TABLE 9.4: COMPLEX RAID 10 COMPARED TO NESTED RAID 10
Feature Complex RAID 10 Nested RAID 10 (1+0)
Number of devices Allows an even or odd num- Requires an even number of

ber of component devices component devices
Component devices Managed as a single RAID Manage as a nested RAID de-

device vice
106 Creating a Complex RAID 10 SLES 12 SP3

Feature Complex RAID 10 Nested RAID 10 (1+0)
Striping Striping occurs in the near Striping occurs consecutively

or far layout on component across component devices
devices.
The far layout provides se-
quential read throughput
that scales by number of dri-
ves, rather than number of
RAID 1 pairs.
Multiple copies of data Two or more copies, up to Copies on each mirrored seg-
the number of devices in the ment
array
Hot spare devices A single spare can service all Configure a spare for each
component devices underlying mirrored array,
or configure a spare to serve
a spare group that serves all
mirrors.
9.2.1 Number of Devices and Replicas in the Complex RAID 10

When configuring a complex RAID 10 array, you must specify the number of replicas of each
data block that are required. The default number of replicas is two, but the value can be two
to the number of devices in the array.
You must use at least as many component devices as the number of replicas you specify. How-
ever, the number of component devices in a RAID 10 array does not need to be a multiple of
the number of replicas of each data block. The effective storage size is the number of devices
divided by the number of replicas.
For example, if you specify two replicas for an array created with ve component devices, a
copy of each block is stored on two different devices. The effective storage size for one copy of
all data is 5/2 or 2.5 times the size of a component device.
107 Number of Devices and Replicas in the Complex RAID 10 SLES 12 SP3
9.2.2 Layout
The complex RAID 10 setup supports three different layouts which define how the data blocks
are arranged on the disks. The available layouts are near (default), far and offset. They have
different performance characteristics, so it is important to choose the right layout for your work-
load.
9.2.2.1 Near Layout
With the near layout, copies of a block of data are striped near each other on different component
devices. That is, multiple copies of one data block are at similar offsets in different devices. Near
is the default layout for RAID 10. For example, if you use an odd number of component devices
and two copies of data, some copies are perhaps one chunk further into the device.
The near layout for the complex RAID 10 yields read and write performance similar to RAID 0
over half the number of drives.
Near layout with an even number of disks and two replicas:
sda1 sdb1 sdc1 sde1

0 0 1 1
2 2 3 3
4 4 5 5
6 6 7 7
8 8 9 9
Near layout with an odd number of disks and two replicas:
sda1 sdb1 sdc1 sde1 sdf1

0 0 1 1 2
2 3 3 4 4
5 5 6 6 7
7 8 8 9 9
10 10 11 11 12
9.2.2.2 Far Layout
The far layout stripes data over the early part of all drives, then stripes a second copy of the data
over the later part of all drives, making sure that all copies of a block are on different drives.
The second set of values starts halfway through the component drives.
108 Layout SLES 12 SP3

With a far layout, the read performance of the complex RAID 10 is similar to a RAID 0 over
the full number of drives, but write performance is substantially slower than a RAID 0 because
there is more seeking of the drive heads. It is best used for read-intensive operations such as
for read-only le servers.
The speed of the RAID 10 for writing is similar to other mirrored RAID types, like RAID 1 and
RAID 10 using near layout, as the elevator of the le system schedules the writes in a more
optimal way than raw writing. Using RAID 10 in the far layout is well suited for mirrored writing
applications.
Far layout with an even number of disks and two replicas:
sda1 sdb1 sdc1 sde1

0 1 2 3
4 5 6 7
. . .
3 0 1 2
7 4 5 6
Far layout with an odd number of disks and two replicas:

0 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9
. . .
4 0 1 2 3
9 5 6 7 8
9.2.2.3 Offset Layout
The offset layout duplicates stripes so that the multiple copies of a given chunk are laid out
on consecutive drives and at consecutive offsets. Effectively, each stripe is duplicated and the
copies are offset by one device. This should give similar read characteristics to a far layout if a
suitably large chunk size is used, but without as much seeking for writes.
Offset layout with an even number of disks and two replicas:
sda1 sdb1 sdc1 sde1

0 1 2 3
3 0 1 2
4 5 6 7
7 4 5 6
8 9 10 11
109 Layout SLES 12 SP3

11 8 9 10
Offset layout with an odd number of disks and two replicas:

0 1 2 3 4
4 0 1 2 3
5 6 7 8 9
9 5 6 7 8
10 11 12 13 14
14 10 11 12 13
9.2.2.4 Specifying the number of Replicas and the Layout with YaST and
mdadm
The number of replicas and the layout is specified as Parity Algorithm in YaST or with the --
layout parameter for mdadm. The following values are accepted:
nN
Specify n for near layout and replace N with the number of replicas. n2 is the default
that is used when not configuring layout and the number of replicas.
fN
Specify f for far layout and replace N with the number of replicas.
oN
Specify o for offset layout and replace N with the number of replicas.
Note: Number of Replicas

YaST automatically offers a selection of all possible values for the Parity Algorithm para-
meter.
9.2.3 Creating a Complex RAID 10 with the YaST Partitioner
110 Creating a Complex RAID 10 with the YaST Partitioner SLES 12 SP3
2. If necessary, create partitions that should be used with your RAID configuration. Do not
format them and set the partition type to 0xFD Linux RAID. When using existing partitions
it is not necessary to change their partition type—YaST will automatically do so. Refer
Partitioner” for details.
For RAID 10 at least four partitions are needed. It is strongly recommended to use parti-
tions stored on different hard disks to decrease the risk of losing data if one is defective.
It is recommended to use only partitions of the same size because each segment can con-
tribute only the same amount of space as the smallest sized partition.
3. In the left panel, select RAID.

A list of existing RAID configurations opens in the right panel.
4. At the lower left of the RAID page, click Add RAID.
5. Under RAID Type, select RAID 10 (Mirroring and Striping).

You can optionally assign a RAID Name to your RAID. It will make it available as /dev/
md/NAME . See Section 7.2.1, “RAID Names” for more information.
6. In the Available Devices list, select the desired partitions, then click Add to move them to
the Selected Devices list.
7. (Optional) Click Classify to specify the preferred order of the disks in the RAID array.
For RAID types such as RAID 10, where the order of added disks matters, you can specify
the order in which the devices will be used. This will ensure that one half of the array
resides on one disk subsystem and the other half of the array resides on a different disk
subsystem. For example, if one disk subsystem fails, the system keeps running from the
second disk subsystem.
a. Select each disk in turn and click one of the Class X buttons, where X is the letter
you want to assign to the disk. Available classes are A, B, C, D and E but for many
cases fewer classes are needed (only A and B, for example). Assign all available RAID
disks this way.
You can press the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple devices. You can also right-
click a selected device and choose the appropriate class from the context menu.
b. Specify the order of the devices by selecting one of the sorting options:
Sorted: Sorts all devices of class A before all devices of class B and so on. For example:
AABBCC .
Interleaved: Sorts devices by the rst device of class A, then rst device of class B,
then all the following classes with assigned devices. Then the second device of class
A, the second device of class B, and so on follows. All devices without a class are
sorted to the end of the devices list. For example: ABCABC .
Pattern File: Select an existing le that contains multiple lines, where each is a
regular expression and a class name ( "sda.* A" ). All devices that match the reg-
ular expression are assigned to the specified class for that line. The regular expres-
sion is matched against the kernel name ( /dev/sda1 ), the udev path name ( /dev/
disk/by-path/pci-0000:00:1f.2-scsi-0:0:0:0-part1 ) and then the udev ID
( dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST3500418AS_9VMN8X8L-part1 ). The rst match made de-
termines the class if a device’s name matches more than one regular expression.
c. At the bottom of the dialog, click OK to confirm the order.
8. Click Next.
9. Under RAID Options, specify the Chunk Size and Parity Algorithm, then click Next.
For a RAID 10, the parity options are n (near), f (far), and o (offset). The number indicates
the number of replicas of each data block that are required. Two is the default. For infor-
mation, see Section 9.2.2, “Layout”.
10. Add a le system and mount options to the RAID device, then click Finish.
11. Click Next.
12. Verify the changes to be made, then click Finish to create the RAID.
9.2.4 Creating a Complex RAID 10 with mdadm

TABLE 9.5: SCENARIO FOR CREATING A RAID 10 USING MDADM
Raw Devices RAID 10
/dev/sdf1 /dev/md3
113 Creating a Complex RAID 10 with mdadm SLES 12 SP3

Raw Devices RAID 10
/dev/sdg1
/dev/sdh1
/dev/sdi1
2. If necessary, create at least four 0xFD Linux RAID partitions of equal size using a disk
partitioner such as parted.
3. Create a RAID 10 by entering the following command.
mdadm --create /dev/md3 --run --level=10 --chunk=32 --raid-devices=4 \

/dev/sdf1 /dev/sdg1 /dev/sdh1 /dev/sdi1
Make sure to adjust the value for --raid-devices and the list of partitions according
to your setup.
The command creates an array with near layout and two replicas. To change any of the two
values, use the --layout as described in Section 9.2.2.4, “Specifying the number of Replicas
and the Layout with YaST and mdadm”.
4. Create a le system on the RAID 10 device /dev/md3 , for example an XFS le system:
sudo vi /etc/mdadm.conf ). Add the following lines (if the le exists, the rst line
probably already exists, too) .

The UUID of the device can be retrieved with the following command:
sudo mdadm -D /dev/md3 | grep UUID
6. Edit the /etc/fstab le to add an entry for the RAID 10 device /dev/md3 . The following
example shows an entry for a RAID device with the XFS le system and /data as a mount
point.

sudo mount /data

10 Creating a Degraded RAID Array
A degraded array is one in which some devices are missing. Degraded arrays are
supported only for RAID 1, RAID 4, RAID 5, and RAID 6. These RAID types are de-
signed to withstand some missing devices as part of their fault-tolerance features.
Typically, degraded arrays occur when a device fails. It is possible to create a de-
graded array on purpose.
RAID Type Allowable Number of Slots Missing
RAID 1 All but one device
RAID 4 One slot
RAID 5 One slot
RAID 6 One or two slots
To create a degraded array in which some devices are missing, simply give the word missing
in place of a device name. This causes mdadm to leave the corresponding slot in the array empty.
When creating a RAID 5 array, mdadm automatically creates a degraded array with an extra
spare drive. This is because building the spare into a degraded array is generally faster than
resynchronizing the parity on a non-degraded, but not clean, array. You can override this feature
with the --force option.
Creating a degraded array might be useful if you want create a RAID, but one of the devices you
want to use already has data on it. In that case, you create a degraded array with other devices,
copy data from the in-use device to the RAID that is running in degraded mode, add the device
into the RAID, then wait while the RAID is rebuilt so that the data is now across all devices. An
example of this process is given in the following procedure:
1. To create a degraded RAID 1 device /dev/md0 , using one single drive /dev/sd1 , enter
the following at the command prompt:
mdadm --create /dev/md0 -l 1 -n 2 /dev/sda1 missing
The device should be the same size or larger than the device you plan to add to it.
116 SLES 12 SP3

2. If the device you want to add to the mirror contains data that you want to move to the
RAID array, copy it now to the RAID array while it is running in degraded mode.
3. Add the device you copied the data from to the mirror. For example, to add /dev/sdb1
to the RAID, enter the following at the command prompt:
mdadm /dev/md0 -a /dev/sdb1
You can add only one device at a time. You must wait for the kernel to build the mirror
and bring it fully online before you add another mirror.
4. Monitor the build progress by entering the following at the command prompt:
cat /proc/mdstat
To see the rebuild progress while being refreshed every second, enter
watch -n 1 cat /proc/mdstat
117 SLES 12 SP3

11 Resizing Software RAID Arrays with mdadm
This section describes how to increase or reduce the size of a software RAID 1, 4, 5,
or 6 device with the Multiple Device Administration ( mdadm(8) ) tool.
Resizing an existing software RAID device involves increasing or decreasing the space con-
tributed by each component partition. The le system that resides on the RAID must also be
able to be resized to take advantage of the changes in available space on the device. In SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server, le system resizing utilities are available for le systems Btrfs, Ext2,
Ext3, Ext4, ReiserFS, and XFS (increase size only). Refer to Chapter 2, Resizing File Systems for
more information.
The mdadm tool supports resizing only for software RAID levels 1, 4, 5, and 6. These RAID
levels provide disk fault tolerance so that one component partition can be removed at a time
for resizing. In principle, it is possible to perform a hot resize for RAID partitions, but you must
take extra care for your data when doing so.
Warning: Back Up your Data Before Resizing

Resizing any partition or le system involves some risks that can potentially result in
losing data. To avoid data loss, ensure that you back up your data before you begin any
resizing task.
Resizing the RAID involves the following tasks. The order in which these tasks are performed
depends on whether you are increasing or decreasing its size.
TABLE 11.1: TASKS INVOLVED IN RESIZING A RAID
Tasks Description Order If Order If

Increas- Decreas-
ing Size ing Size
Resize each of the Increase or decrease the active size of each 1 2

component parti- component partition. You remove only one
tions. component partition at a time, modify its
size, then return it to the RAID.
118 SLES 12 SP3

Tasks Description Order If Order If
Increas- Decreas-
ing Size ing Size
Resize the software The RAID does not automatically know 2 3

RAID itself. about the increases or decreases you make
to the underlying component partitions. You
must inform it about the new size.
Resize the le sys- You must resize the le system that resides 3 1
tem. on the RAID. This is possible only for le
systems that provide tools for resizing.
The procedures in the following sections use the device names shown in the following table.
Ensure that you modify the names to use the names of your own devices.
TABLE 11.2: SCENARIO FOR INCREASING THE SIZE OF COMPONENT PARTITIONS
RAID Device Component Partitions
/dev/md0 /dev/sda1
/dev/sdb1
/dev/sdc1
11.1 Increasing the Size of a Software RAID

Increasing the size of a software RAID involves the following tasks in the given order: increase
the size of all partitions the RAID consists of, increase the size of the RAID itself and, finally,
increase the size of the le system.
Warning: Potential Data Loss

If a RAID does not have disk fault tolerance, or it is simply not consistent, data loss results
if you remove any of its partitions. Be very careful when removing partitions, and ensure
that you have a backup of your data available.
119 Increasing the Size of a Software RAID SLES 12 SP3

11.1.1 Increasing the Size of Component Partitions
Apply the procedure in this section to increase the size of a RAID 1, 4, 5, or 6. For each compo-
nent partition in the RAID, remove the partition from the RAID, modify its size, return it to the
RAID, then wait until the RAID stabilizes to continue. While a partition is removed, the RAID
operates in degraded mode and has no or reduced disk fault tolerance. Even for RAIDs that can
tolerate multiple concurrent disk failures, do not remove more than one component partition at
a time. To increase the size of the component partitions for the RAID, proceed as follows:
2. Ensure that the RAID array is consistent and synchronized by entering
cat /proc/mdstat
If your RAID array is still synchronizing according to the output of this command, you
must wait until synchronization is complete before continuing.
3. Remove one of the component partitions from the RAID array. For example, to remove
/dev/sda1 , enter
sudo mdadm /dev/md0 --fail /dev/sda1 --remove /dev/sda1
To succeed, both the fail and remove actions must be specified.
4. Increase the size of the partition that you removed in the previous step by doing one of
the following:
Increase the size of the partition, using a disk partitioner such as the YaST Partitioner
or the command line tool parted. This option is the usual choice.
Replace the disk on which the partition resides with a higher-capacity device. This
option is possible only if no other le systems on the original disk are accessed by
the system. When the replacement device is added back into the RAID, it takes much
longer to synchronize the data because all of the data that was on the original device
must be rebuilt.
5. Re-add the partition to the RAID array. For example, to add /dev/sda1 , enter
sudo mdadm -a /dev/md0 /dev/sda1
120 Increasing the Size of Component Partitions SLES 12 SP3

Wait until the RAID is synchronized and consistent before continuing with the next par-
tition.
6. Repeat these steps for each of the remaining component devices in the array. Ensure that
you modify the commands for the correct component partition.
7. If you get a message that tells you that the kernel could not re-read the partition table
for the RAID, you must reboot the computer after all partitions have been resized to force
an update of the partition table.
8. Continue with Section 11.1.2, “Increasing the Size of the RAID Array”.
11.1.2 Increasing the Size of the RAID Array

After you have resized each of the component partitions in the RAID (see Section 11.1.1, “Increasing
the Size of Component Partitions”), the RAID array configuration continues to use the original array
size until you force it to be aware of the newly available space. You can specify a size for the
RAID or use the maximum available space.
The procedure in this section uses the device name /dev/md0 for the RAID device. Ensure that
you modify the name to use the name of your own device.
cat /proc/mdstat
3. Check the size of the array and the device size known to the array by entering
sudo mdadm -D /dev/md0 | grep -e "Array Size" -e "Dev Size"
Increase the size of the array to the maximum available size by entering
sudo mdadm --grow /dev/md0 -z max
Increase the size of the array to the maximum available size by entering
121 Increasing the Size of the RAID Array SLES 12 SP3

sudo mdadm --grow /dev/md0 -z max --assume-clean
The array uses any space that has been added to the devices, but this space will not
be synchronized. This is recommended for RAID 1 because the synchronization is
not needed. It can be useful for other RAID levels if the space that was added to the
member devices was pre-zeroed.
Increase the size of the array to a specified value by entering
sudo mdadm --grow /dev/md0 -z SIZE
Replace SIZE with an integer value in kilobytes (a kilobyte is 1024 bytes) for the
desired size.
5. Recheck the size of your array and the device size known to the array by entering
If your array was successfully resized, continue with Section 11.1.3, “Increasing the Size
of the File System”.
If your array was not resized as you expected, you must reboot, then try this proce-
dure again.
11.1.3 Increasing the Size of the File System

After you increase the size of the array (see Section 11.1.2, “Increasing the Size of the RAID Array”),
you are ready to resize the le system.
You can increase the size of the le system to the maximum space available or specify an exact
size. When specifying an exact size for the le system, ensure that the new size satisfies the
following conditions:
The new size must be equal to or less than the current RAID size because the le system
Refer to Chapter 2, Resizing File Systems for detailed instructions.
122 Increasing the Size of the File System SLES 12 SP3

11.2 Decreasing the Size of a Software RAID
Decreasing the Size of a Software RAID involves the following tasks in the given order: decrease
the size of the le system, decrease the size of all partitions the RAID consists of, and finally
decrease the size of the RAID itself.
Warning: Potential Data Loss

If a RAID does not have disk fault tolerance, or it is simply not consistent, data loss results
if you remove any of its partitions. Be very careful when removing partitions, and ensure
that you have a backup of your data available.
Important: XFS
Decreasing the size of a le system formatted with XFS is not possible, since such a feature
is not supported by XFS. As a consequence, the size of a RAID that uses the XFS le system
cannot be decreased.
11.2.1 Decreasing the Size of the File System

When decreasing the size of the le system on a RAID device, ensure that the new size satisfies
the following conditions:
The new size must be equal to or less than the current RAID size because the le system
Refer to Chapter 2, Resizing File Systems for detailed instructions.
11.2.2 Decreasing the Size of the RAID Array

After you have resized the le system (see Section 11.2.1, “Decreasing the Size of the File System”),
the RAID array configuration continues to use the original array size until you force it to reduce
the available space. Use the mdadm --grow mode to force the RAID to use a smaller segment
123 Decreasing the Size of a Software RAID SLES 12 SP3

size. To do this, you must use the -z option to specify the amount of space in kilobytes to use
from each device in the RAID. This size must be a multiple of the chunk size, and it must leave
about 128 KB of space for the RAID superblock to be written to the device.
The procedure in this section uses the device name /dev/md0 for the RAID device. Ensure that
you modify commands to use the name of your own device.
2. Check the size of the array and the device size known to the array by entering
3. Decrease the array’s device size to a specified value by entering
sudo mdadm --grow /dev/md0 -z SIZE
Replace SIZE with an integer value in kilobytes for the desired size. (A kilobyte is 1024
bytes.)
For example, the following command sets the segment size for each RAID device to about
40 GB where the chunk size is 64 KB. It includes 128 KB for the RAID superblock.
sudo mdadm --grow /dev/md2 -z 41943168
4. Recheck the size of your array and the device size known to the array by entering
sudo mdadm -D /dev/md0 | grep -e "Array Size" -e "Device Size"
If your array was successfully resized, continue with Section 11.2.3, “Decreasing the Size
of Component Partitions”.
If your array was not resized as you expected, you must reboot, then try this proce-
dure again.
11.2.3 Decreasing the Size of Component Partitions

After you decrease the segment size that is used on each device in the RAID (see Section 11.2.2,
“Decreasing the Size of the RAID Array”), the remaining space in each component partition is not
used by the RAID. You can leave partitions at their current size to allow for the RAID to grow
at a future time, or you can reclaim this now unused space.
124 Decreasing the Size of Component Partitions SLES 12 SP3

To reclaim the space, you decrease the component partitions one at a time. For each component
partition, you remove it from the RAID, reduce its partition size, return the partition to the RAID,
then wait until the RAID stabilizes. To allow for metadata, you should specify a slightly larger
size than the size you specified for the RAID in Section 11.2.2, “Decreasing the Size of the RAID Array”.
While a partition is removed, the RAID operates in degraded mode and has no or reduced disk
fault tolerance. Even for RAIDs that can tolerate multiple concurrent disk failures, you should
never remove more than one component partition at a time. To decrease the size of the compo-
nent partitions for the RAID, proceed as follows:
cat /proc/mdstat
3. Remove one of the component partitions from the RAID array. For example, to remove
/dev/sda1 , enter
sudo mdadm /dev/md0 --fail /dev/sda1 --remove /dev/sda1
To succeed, both the fail and remove actions must be specified.
4. Decrease the size of the partition that you removed in the previous step to a size that is
slightly larger than the size you set for the segment size. The size should be a multiple of
the chunk size and allow 128 KB for the RAID superblock. Use a disk partitioner such as
the YaST partitioner or the command line tool parted to decrease the size of the partition.
5. Re-add the partition to the RAID array. For example, to add /dev/sda1 , enter
sudo mdadm -a /dev/md0 /dev/sda1
Wait until the RAID is synchronized and consistent before continuing with the next par-
tition.
6. Repeat these steps for each of the remaining component devices in the array. Ensure that
you modify the commands for the correct component partition.
7. If you get a message that tells you that the kernel could not re-read the partition table for
the RAID, you must reboot the computer after resizing all of its component partitions.

8. (Optional) Expand the size of the RAID and le system to use the maximum amount of
space in the now smaller component partitions and increase the size of the le system
afterward. Refer to Section 11.1.2, “Increasing the Size of the RAID Array” for instructions.

12 Storage Enclosure LED Utilities for MD Software
RAIDs
Storage enclosure LED Monitoring utility ( ledmon ) and LED Control ( ledctl ) util-
ity are Linux user space applications that use a broad range of interfaces and pro-
tocols to control storage enclosure LEDs. The primary usage is to visualize the sta-
tus of Linux MD software RAID devices created with the mdadm utility. The led-
mon daemon monitors the status of the drive array and updates the status of the dri-
ve LEDs. The ledctl utility allows you to set LED patterns for specified devices.
These LED utilities use the SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output) specification (Small
Form Factor (SFF) 8485) and the SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) 2 protocol to control LEDs. They
implement the International Blinking Pattern Interpretation (IBPI) patterns of the SFF-8489
specification for SGPIO. The IBPI defines how the SGPIO standards are interpreted as states for
drives and slots on a backplane and how the backplane should visualize the states with LEDs.
Some storage enclosures do not adhere strictly to the SFF-8489 specification. An enclosure
processor might accept an IBPI pattern but not blink the LEDs according to the SFF-8489 spec-
ification, or the processor might support only a limited number of the IBPI patterns.
LED management (AHCI) and SAF-TE protocols are not supported by the ledmon and ledctl
utilities.
The ledmon and ledctl applications have been verified to work with Intel storage controllers
such as the Intel AHCI controller and Intel SAS controller. They also support PCIe-SSD (sol-
id-state drive) enclosure LEDs to control the storage enclosure status (OK, Fail, Rebuilding) LEDs
of PCIe-SSD devices that are part of an MD software RAID volume. The applications might al-
so work with the IBPI-compliant storage controllers of other vendors (especially SAS/SCSI con-
trollers); however, other vendors’ controllers have not been tested.
ledmon and ledctl are part of the ledmon package, which is not installed by default. Run
sudo zypper in ledmon to install it.
127 SLES 12 SP3

12.1 The Storage Enclosure LED Monitor Service
The ledmon application is a daemon process that constantly monitors the state of MD software
RAID devices or the state of block devices in a storage enclosure or drive bay. Only a single
instance of the daemon should be running at a time. The ledmon daemon is part of Intel En-
closure LED Utilities.
The state is visualized on LEDs associated with each slot in a storage array enclosure or a drive
bay. The application monitors all software RAID devices and visualizes their state. It does not
provide a way to monitor only selected software RAID volumes.
The ledmon daemon supports two types of LED systems: A two-LED system (Activity LED and
Status LED) and a three-LED system (Activity LED, Locate LED, and Fail LED). This tool has the
highest priority when accessing the LEDs.
To start ledmon , enter
sudo ledmon [options]
where [options] is one or more of the following:
OPTIONS FOR ledmon
-c PATH ,
--confg=PATH
The configuration is read from ~/.ledctl or from /etc/ledcfg.conf if existing. Use
this option to specify an alternative configuration le.
Currently this option has no effect, since support for configuration les has not been im-
plemented yet. See man 5 ledctl.conf for details.
-l PATH ,
--log= PATH
Sets a path to local log le. If this user-defined le is specified, the global log le /var/
log/ledmon.log is not used.
-t SECONDS ,
--interval=SECONDS
Sets the time interval between scans of sysfs . The value is given in seconds. The minimum
is 5 seconds. The maximum is not specified.
--quiet , --error , --warning , --info , --debug , --all
128 The Storage Enclosure LED Monitor Service SLES 12 SP3

Specifies the verbosity level. The level options are specified in the order of no information
to the most information. Use the --quiet option for no logging. Use the --all option
to log everything. If you specify more than one verbose option, the last option in the
command applies.
-h ,
--help
Prints the command information to the console, then exits.
-v ,
--version
Displays version of ledmon and information about the license, then exits.
Note: Known Issues

The ledmon daemon does not recognize the PFA (Predicted Failure Analysis) state from
the SFF-8489 specification. Thus, the PFA pattern is not visualized.
12.2 The Storage Enclosure LED Control Application

The Enclosure LED Application ( ledctl ) is a user space application that controls LEDs associ-
ated with each slot in a storage enclosure or a drive bay. The ledctl application is a part of
Intel Enclosure LED Utilities.
When you issue the command, the LEDs of the specified devices are set to a specified pattern and
all other LEDs are turned o. This application needs to be run with root privileges. Because the
ledmon application has the highest priority when accessing LEDs, some patterns set by ledctl
might have no effect if the ledmon daemon is running (except for the Locate pattern).
The ledctl application supports two types of LED systems: A two-LED system (Activity LED
and Status LED) and a three-LED system (Activity LED, Fail LED, and Locate LED).
To start ledctl , enter
sudo [options] PATTERN_NAME=list_of_devices
where [options] is one or more of the following:
-c PATH ,
--confg=PATH
129 The Storage Enclosure LED Control Application SLES 12 SP3

Sets a path to local configuration le. If this option is specified, the global configuration
le and user configuration le have no effect.
-l PATH ,
--log= PATH
Sets a path to local log le. If this user-defined le is specified, the global log le /var/
log/ledmon.log is not used.
--quiet
Turns o all messages sent to stdout or stderr out. The messages are still logged to
local le and the syslog facility.
-h ,
--help
Prints the command information to the console, then exits.
-v ,
--version
Displays version of ledctl and information about the license, then exits.
12.2.1 Pattern Names

The ledctl application accepts the following names for pattern_name argument, according to
the SFF-8489 specification.
locate
Turns on the Locate LED associated with the specified devices or empty slots. This state
is used to identify a slot or drive.
locate_off
Turns o the Locate LED associated with the specified devices or empty slots.
normal
Turns o the Status LED, Failure LED, and Locate LED associated with the specified devices.
off
Turns o only the Status LED and Failure LED associated with the specified devices.
ica ,
degraded
130 Pattern Names SLES 12 SP3

Visualizes the In a Critical Array pattern.
rebuild ,
rebuild_p
Visualizes the Rebuild pattern. This supports both of the rebuild states for compatibility
and legacy reasons.
ifa ,
failed_array
Visualizes the In a Failed Array pattern.
hotspare
Visualizes the Hotspare pattern.
pfa
Visualizes the Predicted Failure Analysis pattern.
failure ,
disk_failed
Visualizes the Failure pattern.
ses_abort
SES-2 R/R ABORT
ses_rebuild
SES-2 REBUILD/REMAP
ses_ifa
SES-2 IN FAILED ARRAY
ses_ica
SES-2 IN CRITICAL ARRAY
ses_cons_check
SES-2 CONS CHECK
ses_hotspare
SES-2 HOTSPARE
ses_rsvd_dev
SES-2 RSVD DEVICE
ses_ok

SES-2 OK
ses_ident
SES-2 IDENT
ses_rm
SES-2 REMOVE
ses_insert
SES-2 INSERT
ses_missing
SES-2 MISSING
ses_dnr
SES-2 DO NOT REMOVE
ses_active
SES-2 ACTIVE
ses_enable_bb
SES-2 ENABLE BYP B
ses_enable_ba
SES-2 ENABLE BYP A
ses_devoff
SES-2 DEVICE OFF
ses_fault
SES-2 FAULT
When a non-SES-2 pattern is sent to a device in an enclosure, the pattern is automatically trans-
lated to the SCSI Enclosure Services (SES) 2 pattern as shown above.
TABLE 12.1: TRANSLATION BETWEEN NON-SES-2 PATTERNS AND SES-2 PATTERNS
Non-SES-2 Pattern SES-2 Pattern
locate ses_ident
locate_off ses_ident
normal ses_ok

Non-SES-2 Pattern SES-2 Pattern
o ses_ok
ica ses_ica
degraded ses_ica
rebuild ses_rebuild
rebuild_p ses_rebuild
ifa ses_ifa
failed_array ses_ifa
hotspare ses_hotspare
pfa ses_rsvd_dev
failure ses_fault
disk_failed ses_fault
12.2.2 List of Devices

When you issue the ledctl command, the LEDs of the specified devices are set to the specified
pattern and all other LEDs are turned o. The list of devices can be provided in one of two
formats:
A list of devices separated by a comma and no spaces
A list in curly braces with devices separated by a space
If you specify multiple patterns in the same command, the device list for each pattern can use
the same or different format. For examples that show the two list formats, see Section 12.2.3,
“Examples”.
A device is a path to le in the /dev directory or in the /sys/block directory. The path can
identify a block device, an MD software RAID device, or a container device. For a software RAID
device or a container device, the reported LED state is set for all of the associated block devices.
133 List of Devices SLES 12 SP3

The LEDs of devices listed in list_of_devices are set to the given pattern pattern_name and all
other LEDs are turned o.
12.2.3 Examples
To locate a single block device:
sudo ledctl locate=/dev/sda
To turn o the Locate LED for a single block device:
sudo ledctl locate_off=/dev/sda
To locate disks of an MD software RAID device and to set a rebuild pattern for two of its block
devices at the same time:
sudo ledctl locate=/dev/md127 rebuild={ /sys/block/sd[a-b] }
To turn o the Status LED and Failure LED for the specified devices:
sudo ledctl off={ /dev/sda /dev/sdb }
To locate three block devices run one of the following commends (both are equivalent):
sudo ledctl locate=/dev/sda,/dev/sdb,/dev/sdc

sudo ledctl locate={ /dev/sda /dev/sdb /dev/sdc }

See the following resources for details about the LED patterns and monitoring tools:
LEDMON open source project on Sourceforge.net (http://sourceforge.net/projects/ledmon/)
SGPIO specification SFF-8485 (ftp://ftp.seagate.com/sff/SFF-8485.PDF)
IBPI specification SFF-8489 (ftp://ftp.seagate.com/sff/SFF-8489.PDF)
134 Examples SLES 12 SP3

IV Network Storage
13 iSNS for Linux 136
14 Mass Storage over IP Networks: iSCSI 144
15 Fibre Channel Storage over Ethernet Networks: FCoE 166
16 NVMe over Fabric 177
17 Managing Multipath I/O for Devices 183
18 Managing Access Control Lists over NFSv4 246

13 iSNS for Linux
Storage area networks (SANs) can contain many disk drives that are dispersed across complex
networks. This can make device discovery and device ownership difficult. iSCSI initiators must
be able to identify storage resources in the SAN and determine whether they have access to them.
Internet Storage Name Service (iSNS) is a standards-based service that simplifies the automat-
ed discovery, management, and configuration of iSCSI devices on a TCP/IP network. iSNS pro-
vides intelligent storage discovery and management services comparable to those found in Fibre
Channel networks.
Important: Security Considerations

iSNS should be used only in secure internal networks.
13.1 How iSNS Works

For an iSCSI initiator to discover iSCSI targets, it needs to identify which devices in the network
are storage resources and what IP addresses it needs to access them. A query to an iSNS server
returns a list of iSCSI targets and the IP addresses that the initiator has permission to access.
Using iSNS, you create iSNS discovery domains into which you then group or organize iSCSI tar-
gets and initiators. By dividing storage nodes into domains, you can limit the discovery process
of each host to the most appropriate subset of targets registered with iSNS, which allows the
storage network to scale by reducing the number of unnecessary discoveries and by limiting the
amount of time each host spends establishing discovery relationships. This lets you control and
simplify the number of targets and initiators that must be discovered.
136 How iSNS Works SLES 12 SP3

FIGURE 13.1: ISNS DISCOVERY DOMAINS
Both iSCSI targets and iSCSI initiators use iSNS clients to initiate transactions with iSNS servers
by using the iSNS protocol. They then register device attribute information in a common dis-
covery domain, download information about other registered clients, and receive asynchronous
notification of events that occur in their discovery domain.
iSNS servers respond to iSNS protocol queries and requests made by iSNS clients using the
iSNS protocol. iSNS servers initiate iSNS protocol state change notifications and store properly
authenticated information submitted by a registration request in an iSNS database.
Benefits provided by iSNS for Linux include:
Provides an information facility for registration, discovery, and management of networked

storage assets.
Integrates with the DNS infrastructure.
Consolidates registration, discovery, and management of iSCSI storage.
Simplifies storage management implementations.
Improves scalability compared to other discovery methods.
137 How iSNS Works SLES 12 SP3

An example of the benefits iSNS provides can be better understood through the following sce-
nario:
Suppose you have a company that has 100 iSCSI initiators and 100 iSCSI targets. Depending on
your configuration, all iSCSI initiators could potentially try to discover and connect to any of the
100 iSCSI targets. This could create discovery and connection difficulties. By grouping initiators
and targets into discovery domains, you can prevent iSCSI initiators in one department from
discovering the iSCSI targets in another department. The result is that the iSCSI initiators in a
specific department only discover those iSCSI targets that are part of the department's discovery
domain.
13.2 Installing iSNS Server for Linux

iSNS Server for Linux is included with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, but is not installed or con-
figured by default. You need to install the package open-isns and configure the iSNS service.
Note: iSNS and iSCSI on the Same Server

iSNS can be installed on the same server where iSCSI target or iSCSI initiator software
is installed. Installing both the iSCSI target software and iSCSI initiator software on the
same server is not supported.
To install iSNS for Linux:
1. Start YaST and select Network Services iSNS Server.
2. In case open-isns is not installed yet, you are prompted to install it now. Confirm by
clicking Install.
3. The iSNS Service configuration dialog opens automatically to the Service tab.
138 Installing iSNS Server for Linux SLES 12 SP3

4. In Service Start, select one of the following:
When Booting: The iSNS service starts automatically on server start-up.
Manually (Default): The iSNS service must be started manually by entering sudo
systemctl start isnsd at the server console of the server where you install it.
5. Specify the following firewall settings:
Open Port in Firewall: Select the check box to open the firewall and allow access to
the service from remote computers. The firewall port is closed by default.
Firewall Details: If you open the firewall port, the port is open on all network inter-
faces by default. Click Firewall Details to select interfaces on which to open the port,
select the network interfaces to use, then click OK.
6. Click OK to apply the configuration settings and complete the installation.
7. Continue with Section 13.3, “Configuring iSNS Discovery Domains”.
139 Installing iSNS Server for Linux SLES 12 SP3

13.3 Configuring iSNS Discovery Domains
For iSCSI initiators and targets to use the iSNS service, they must belong to a discovery domain.
Important: The iSNS Service Must be Active

The iSNS service must be installed and running to configure iSNS discovery domains. For
information, see Section 13.4, “Starting the iSNS Service”.
13.3.1 Creating iSNS Discovery Domains

A default discovery domain named default DD is automatically created when you install the
iSNS service. The existing iSCSI targets and initiators that have been configured to use iSNS are
automatically added to the default discovery domain.
To create a new discovery domain:
1. Start YaST and under Network Services, select iSNS Server.
2. Click the Discovery Domains tab.

The Discovery Domains area lists all existing discovery domains. You can Create Discovery
Domains, or Delete existing ones. Deleting a domain removes the members from the do-
main, but it does not delete the iSCSI node members.
The Discovery Domain Members area lists all iSCSI nodes assigned to a selected discovery
domain. Selecting a different discovery domain refreshes the list with members from that
discovery domain. You can add and delete iSCSI nodes from a selected discovery domain.
Deleting an iSCSI node removes it from the domain, but it does not delete the iSCSI node.
Create iSCSI Node Member allows a node that is not yet registered to be added as a member
of the discovery domain. When the iSCSI initiator or target registers this node, then it
becomes part of this domain.
When an iSCSI initiator performs a discovery request, the iSNS service returns all iSCSI
node targets that are members of the same discovery domain.
140 Configuring iSNS Discovery Domains SLES 12 SP3

3. Click the Create Discovery Domain button.
You can also select an existing discovery domain and click the Delete button to remove
that discovery domain.
4. Specify the name of the discovery domain you are creating, then click OK.
5. Continue with Section 13.3.2, “Adding iSCSI Nodes to a Discovery Domain”.
13.3.2 Adding iSCSI Nodes to a Discovery Domain
1. Start YaST and under Network Services, select iSNS Server.
2. Click the iSCSI Nodes tab.
141 Adding iSCSI Nodes to a Discovery Domain SLES 12 SP3

3. Review the list of nodes to ensure that the iSCSI targets and initiators that you want to
use the iSNS service are listed.
If an iSCSI target or initiator is not listed, you might need to restart the iSCSI service on
the node. You can do this by running
sudo systemctl restart iscsid.socket

sudo systemctl restart iscsi
to restart an initiator or
sudo systemctl restart target-isns
to restart a target.
You can select an iSCSI node and click the Delete button to remove that node from the
iSNS database. This is useful if you are no longer using an iSCSI node or have renamed it.
The iSCSI node is automatically added to the list (iSNS database) again when you restart
the iSCSI service or reboot the server unless you remove or comment out the iSNS portion
of the iSCSI configuration le.
4. Click the Discovery Domains tab and select the desired discovery domain.
142 Adding iSCSI Nodes to a Discovery Domain SLES 12 SP3

5. Click Add existing iSCSI Node, select the node you want to add to the domain, then click
Add Node.
6. Repeat the previous step for as many nodes as you want to add to the discovery domain,
then click Done when you are finished adding nodes.
Note that an iSCSI node can belong to more than one discovery domain.
13.4 Starting the iSNS Service

iSNS must be started at the server where you install it. If you have not configured it to be started
at boot time (see Section 13.2, “Installing iSNS Server for Linux” for details), enter the following
command at a terminal console:
sudo systemctl start isnsd
You can also use the stop , status , and restart options with iSNS.
13.5 For More Information

For information, see the Linux iSNS for iSCSI project at http://sourceforge.net/projects/
linuxisns/ . The electronic mailing list for this project can be found at http://source-
forge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?forum_name=linuxisns-discussion .
General information about iSNS is available in RFC 4171: Internet Storage Name Service at http://
www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4171 .
143 Starting the iSNS Service SLES 12 SP3

14 Mass Storage over IP Networks: iSCSI
One of the primary tasks of a computer center, or any site that supports servers, is to provide
adequate disk capacity. Fibre Channel is often used for this purpose. iSCSI (Internet SCSI) so-
lutions provide a lower-cost alternative to Fibre Channel that can leverage commodity servers
and Ethernet networking equipment. Linux iSCSI provides iSCSI initiator and iSCSI LIO target
software for connecting Linux servers to central storage systems.
Ethernet Switch
Network Backbone Network Backbone
Server 1 Server 2 Server 3 Server 4 Server 5 Server 6
iSCSI iSCSI iSCSI iSCSI iSCSI iSNS

Initiator Initiator Initiator Initiator Initiator Server
Server 7
Ethernet
iSCSI SAN Ethernet Switch

iSCSI LIO Target
Server Shared Disks
FIGURE 14.1: ISCSI SAN WITH AN ISNS SERVER
Note: LIO
LIO (http://linux-iscsi.org ) is the standard open source multiprotocol SCSI target for Lin-
ux. LIO replaced the STGT (SCSI Target) framework as the standard unified storage target
in Linux with Linux kernel version 2.6.38 and later. In SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12
the iSCSI LIO Target Server replaces the iSCSI Target Server from previous versions.
iSCSI is a storage networking protocol that simplifies data transfers of SCSI packets over TCP/
IP networks between block storage devices and servers. iSCSI target software runs on the target
server and defines the logical units as iSCSI target devices. iSCSI initiator software runs on
different servers and connects to the target devices to make the storage devices available on
that server.
144 SLES 12 SP3

The iSCSI LIO target server and iSCSI initiator servers communicate by sending SCSI packets at
the IP level in your LAN. When an application running on the initiator server starts an inquiry
for an iSCSI LIO target device, the operating system produces the necessary SCSI commands.
The SCSI commands are then embedded in IP packets and encrypted as necessary by software
that is commonly known as the iSCSI initiator. The packets are transferred across the internal IP
network to the corresponding iSCSI remote station, called the iSCSI LIO target server, or simply
the iSCSI target.
Many storage solutions provide access over iSCSI, but it is also possible to run a Linux server that
provides an iSCSI target. In this case, it is important to set up a Linux server that is optimized
for le system services. The iSCSI target accesses block devices in Linux. Therefore, it is possible
to use RAID solutions to increase disk space and a lot of memory to improve data caching. For
more information about RAID, also see Chapter 7, Software RAID Configuration.
14.1 Installing the iSCSI LIO Target Server and iSCSI

Initiator
While the iSCSI initiator is installed by default (packages open-iscsi and yast2-isc-
si-client ), the iSCSI LIO target packages need to be installed manually.
Important: Initiator and Target may not Run on the

Same Server
It is not supported to run iSCSI target software and iSCSI initiator software on the same
server in a production environment.
To install the iSCSI LIO Target Server, run the following command in a terminal console:
sudo zypper in yast2-iscsi-lio-server
In case you need to install the iSCSI initiator or any of its dependencies, run the command sudo
zypper in yast2-iscsi-client .
Alternatively, use the YaST Software Management module for installation.

Any packages required in addition to the ones mentioned above will either be automatically
pulled in by the installer, or be installed when you rst run the respective YaST module.
145 Installing the iSCSI LIO Target Server and iSCSI Initiator SLES 12 SP3
14.2 Setting Up an iSCSI LIO Target Server
This section describes how to use YaST to configure an iSCSI LIO Target Server and set up iSCSI
LIO target devices. You can use any iSCSI initiator software to access the target devices.
14.2.1 iSCSI LIO Target Service Start-up and Firewall Settings

The iSCSI LIO Target service is by default configured to be started manually. You can configure
the service to start automatically at boot time. If you use a firewall on the server and you want
the iSCSI LIO targets to be available to other computers, you must open a port in the firewall
for each adapter that you want to use for target access. TCP port 3260 is the port number for
the iSCSI protocol, as defined by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority).
1. Start YaST and launch Network Services iSCSI LIO Target.
2. Switch to the Service tab.
146 Setting Up an iSCSI LIO Target Server SLES 12 SP3

3. Under Service Start, specify how you want the iSCSI LIO target service to be started:
When Booting: The service starts automatically on server restart.
Manually: (Default) You must start the service manually after a server restart by
running sudo systemctl start target . The target devices are not available until
you start the service.
4. If you use a firewall on the server and you want the iSCSI LIO targets to be available to
other computers, open port 3260 in the firewall for each adapter interface that you want
to use for target access. If the port is closed for all of the network interfaces, the iSCSI LIO
targets are not available to other computers.
If you do not use a firewall on the server, the firewall settings are disabled. In this case
skip the following steps and leave the configuration dialog with Finish or switch to another
tab to continue with the configuration.
a. On the Services tab, select the Open Port in Firewall check box to enable the firewall
settings.
b. Click Firewall Details to view or configure the network interfaces to use. All available
network interfaces are listed, and all are selected by default. Deselect all interfaces
on which the port should not be opened. Save your settings with OK.
5. Click Finish to save and apply the iSCSI LIO Target service settings.
14.2.2 Configuring Authentication for Discovery of iSCSI LIO

Targets and Initiators
The iSCSI LIO Target Server software supports the PPP-CHAP (Point-to-Point Protocol Challenge
Handshake Authentication Protocol), a three-way authentication method defined in the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) RFC 1994 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1994.txt ). The server uses
this authentication method for the discovery of iSCSI LIO targets and initiators, not for accessing
les on the targets. If you do not want to restrict the access to the discovery, use No Authenti-
cation. The No Discovery Authentication option is enabled by default. Without requiring authen-
tication all iSCSI LIO targets on this server can be discovered by any iSCSI initiator on the same
network.
147 Configuring Authentication for Discovery of iSCSI LIO Targets and Initiators SLES 12 SP3
If authentication is needed for a more secure configuration, you can use incoming authentica-
tion, outgoing authentication, or both. Authentication by Initiators requires an iSCSI initiator to
prove that it has the permissions to run a discovery on the iSCSI LIO target. The initiator must
provide the incoming user name and password. Authentication by Targets requires the iSCSI LIO
target to prove to the initiator that it is the expected target. The iSCSI LIO target must provide
the outgoing user name and password to the iSCSI initiator. The password needs to be different
for incoming and outgoing discovery. If authentication for discovery is enabled, its settings ap-
ply to all iSCSI LIO target groups.
Important: Security
We recommend that you use authentication for target and initiator discovery in produc-
tion environments for security reasons.
To configure authentication preferences for iSCSI LIO targets:
2. Switch to the Global tab.
3. By default, authentication is disabled (No Discovery Authentication). To enable Authenti-

cation, select Authentication by Initiators, Outgoing Authentication or both.
148 Configuring Authentication for Discovery of iSCSI LIO Targets and Initiators SLES 12 SP3
4. Provide credentials for the selected authentication method(s). The user name and pass-
word pair must be different for incoming and outgoing discovery.
5. Click Finish to save and apply the settings.
14.2.3 Preparing the Storage Space

Before you configure LUNs for your iSCSI Target servers, you must prepare the storage you want
to use. You can use the entire unformatted block device as a single LUN, or you can subdivide
a device into unformatted partitions and use each partition as a separate LUN. The iSCSI target
configuration exports the LUNs to iSCSI initiators.
You can use the Partitioner in YaST or the command line to set up the partitions. Refer to Book
“Deployment Guide”, Chapter 12 “Advanced Disk Setup”, Section 12.1 “Using the YaST Partitioner” for
details. iSCSI LIO targets can use unformatted partitions with Linux, Linux LVM, or Linux RAID
le system IDs.
Important: Do Not Mount iSCSI Target Devices

After you set up a device or partition for use as an iSCSI target, you never access it directly
via its local path. Do not mount the partitions on the target server.
14.2.3.1 Partitioning Devices in a Virtual Environment
You can use a virtual machine guest server as an iSCSI LIO Target Server. This section describes
how to assign partitions to a Xen virtual machine. You can also use other virtual environments
that are supported by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
In a Xen virtual environment, you must assign the storage space you want to use for the iSCSI
LIO target devices to the guest virtual machine, then access the space as virtual disks within
the guest environment. Each virtual disk can be a physical block device, such as an entire disk,
partition, or volume, or it can be a le-backed disk image where the virtual disk is a single
image le on a larger physical disk on the Xen host server. For the best performance, create
each virtual disk from a physical disk or a partition. After you set up the virtual disks for the
guest virtual machine, start the guest server, then configure the new blank virtual disks as iSCSI
target devices by following the same process as for a physical server.
149 Preparing the Storage Space SLES 12 SP3

File-backed disk images are created on the Xen host server, then assigned to the Xen guest
server. By default, Xen stores le-backed disk images in the /var/lib/xen/images/VM_NAME
directory, where VM_NAME is the name of the virtual machine.
14.2.4 Setting Up an iSCSI LIO Target Group

You can use YaST to configure iSCSI LIO target devices. YaST uses APIs provided by the lio-
utils software. iSCSI LIO targets can use unformatted partitions with Linux, Linux LVM, or
Linux RAID le system IDs.
Important: Partitions
Before you begin, create the unformatted partitions that you want to use as iSCSI LIO
targets as described in Section 14.2.3, “Preparing the Storage Space”.
2. Switch to the Targets tab.
150 Setting Up an iSCSI LIO Target Group SLES 12 SP3

3. Click Add, then define a new iSCSI LIO target group and devices:
The iSCSI LIO Target software automatically completes the Target, Identifier, Portal Group,
IP Address, and Port Number elds. Use Authentication is selected by default.
a. If you have multiple network interfaces, use the IP address drop-down box to select
the IP address of the network interface to use for this target group. To make the
server accessible under all addresses, choose Bind All IP Addresses.
b. Deselect Use Authentication if you do not want to require initiator authentication for
this target group (not recommended).
c. Click Add. Enter the path of the device or partition or Browse to add it. Optionally
specify a name, then click OK. The LUN number is automatically generated, begin-
ning with 0. A name is automatically generated if you leave the eld empty.
d. (Optional) Repeat the previous steps to add more targets to this target group.
e. After all desired targets have been added to the group, click Next.
4. On the Modify iSCSI Target Initiator Setup page, configure information for the initiators that
are permitted to access LUNs in the target group:

After you specify at least one initiator for the target group, the Edit LUN, Edit Auth, Delete,
and Copy buttons are enabled. You can use Add or Copy to add more initiators for the
target group:
MODIFY ISCSI TARGET: OPTIONS
Add: Add a new initiator entry for the selected iSCSI LIO target group.
Edit LUN: Configure which LUNs in the iSCSI LIO target group to map to a selected
initiator. You can map each of the allocated targets to a preferred initiator.
Edit Auth: Configure the preferred authentication method for a selected initiator.
You can specify no authentication, or you can configure incoming authentication,
outgoing authentication, or both.
Delete: Remove a selected initiator entry from the list of initiators allocated to the
target group.
Copy: Add a new initiator entry with the same LUN mappings and authentication
settings as a selected initiator entry. This allows you to easily allocate the same
shared LUNs, in turn, to each node in a cluster.
a. Click Add, specify the initiator name, select or deselect the Import LUNs from TPG
check box, then click OK to save the settings.
b. Select an initiator entry, click Edit LUN, modify the LUN mappings to specify which
LUNs in the iSCSI LIO target group to allocate to the selected initiator, then click
OK to save the changes.
If the iSCSI LIO target group consists of multiple LUNs, you can allocate one or
multiple LUNs to the selected initiator. By default, each of the available LUNs in the
group are assigned to an initiator LUN.
To modify the LUN allocation, perform one or more of the following actions:
Add: Click Add to create a new Initiator LUN entry, then use the Change drop-
down box to map a target LUN to it.
Delete: Select the Initiator LUN entry, then click Delete to remove a target LUN
mapping.
Change: Select the Initiator LUN entry, then use the Change drop-down box to
select which Target LUN to map to it.

Typical allocation plans include the following:
A single server is listed as an initiator. All of the LUNs in the target group are
allocated to it.
You can use this grouping strategy to logically group the iSCSI SAN storage
for a given server.
Multiple independent servers are listed as initiators. One or multiple target

LUNs are allocated to each server. Each LUN is allocated to only one server.
You can use this grouping strategy to logically group the iSCSI SAN storage for
a given department or service category in the data center.
Each node of a cluster is listed as an initiator. All of the shared target LUNs are
allocated to each node. All nodes are attached to the devices, but for most le
systems, the cluster software locks a device for access and mounts it on only
one node at a time. Shared le systems (such as OCFS2) make it possible for
multiple nodes to concurrently mount the same le structure and to open the
same les with read and write access.
You can use this grouping strategy to logically group the iSCSI SAN storage for
a given server cluster.
c. Select an initiator entry, click Edit Auth, specify the authentication settings for the
initiator, then click OK to save the settings.
You can require No Discovery Authentication, or you can configure Authentication by
Initiators, Outgoing Authentication, or both. You can specify only one user name and
password pair for each initiator. The credentials can be different for incoming and
outgoing authentication for an initiator. The credentials can be different for each
initiator.
d. Repeat the previous steps for each iSCSI initiator that can access this target group.
e. After the initiator assignments are configured, click Next.

14.2.5 Modifying an iSCSI LIO Target Group
You can modify an existing iSCSI LIO target group as follows:
Add or remove target LUN devices from a target group
Add or remove initiators for a target group
Modify the initiator LUN-to-target LUN mappings for an initiator of a target group
Modify the user name and password credentials for an initiator authentication (incoming,
outgoing, or both)
To view or modify the settings for an iSCSI LIO target group:
3. Select the iSCSI LIO target group to be modified, then click Edit.
4. On the Modify iSCSI Target LUN Setup page, add LUNs to the target group, edit the LUN
assignments, or remove target LUNs from the group. After all desired changes have been
made to the group, click Next.
For option information, see Modify iSCSI Target: Options.
5. On the Modify iSCSI Target Initiator Setup page, configure information for the initiators
that are permitted to access LUNs in the target group. After all desired changes have been
made to the group, click Next.
14.2.6 Deleting an iSCSI LIO Target Group

Deleting an iSCSI LIO target group removes the definition of the group, and the related setup for
initiators, including LUN mappings and authentication credentials. It does not destroy the data
on the partitions. To give initiators access again, you can allocate the target LUNs to a different
or new target group, and configure the initiator access for them.
154 Modifying an iSCSI LIO Target Group SLES 12 SP3

3. Select the iSCSI LIO target group to be deleted, then click Delete.
4. When you are prompted, click Continue to confirm the deletion, or click Cancel to cancel it.
14.3 Configuring iSCSI Initiator

The iSCSI initiator can be used to connect to any iSCSI target. This is not restricted to the iSCSI
target solution explained in Section 14.2, “Setting Up an iSCSI LIO Target Server”. The configuration
of iSCSI initiator involves two major steps: the discovery of available iSCSI targets and the setup
of an iSCSI session. Both can be done with YaST.
14.3.1 Using YaST for the iSCSI Initiator Configuration

The iSCSI Initiator Overview in YaST is divided into three tabs:
Service:
The Service tab can be used to enable the iSCSI initiator at boot time. It also offers to set
a unique Initiator Name and an iSNS server to use for the discovery.
Connected Targets:
The Connected Targets tab gives an overview of the currently connected iSCSI targets. Like
the Discovered Targets tab, it also gives the option to add new targets to the system.
Discovered Targets:
The Discovered Targets tab provides the possibility of manually discovering iSCSI targets
in the network.
14.3.1.1 Configuring the iSCSI Initiator
1. Start YaST and launch Network Services iSCSI Initiator.
2. Switch to the Services tab.
155 Configuring iSCSI Initiator SLES 12 SP3

3. Under Service Start, specify how you want the iSCSI initiator service to be started:
When Booting: The service starts automatically on server restart.
Manually: (Default) You must start the service manually after a server restart by
running sudo systemctl start iscsi iscsid .
4. Specify or verify the Initiator Name.

Specify a well-formed iSCSI qualified name (IQN) for the iSCSI initiator on this server.
The initiator name must be globally unique on your network. The IQN uses the following
general format:
iqn.yyyy-mm.com.mycompany:n1:n2
where n1 and n2 are alphanumeric characters. For example:
iqn.1996-04.de.suse:01:a5dfcea717a
The Initiator Name is automatically completed with the corresponding value from the /
etc/iscsi/initiatorname.iscsi le on the server.
156 Using YaST for the iSCSI Initiator Configuration SLES 12 SP3
If the server has iBFT (iSCSI Boot Firmware Table) support, the Initiator Name is completed
with the corresponding value in the IBFT, and you are not able to change the initiator name
in this interface. Use the BIOS Setup to modify it instead. The iBFT is a block of information
containing various parameters useful to the iSCSI boot process, including iSCSI target and
initiator descriptions for the server.
5. Use either of the following methods to discover iSCSI targets on the network.
iSNS: To use iSNS (Internet Storage Name Service) for discovering iSCSI targets,
continue with Section 14.3.1.2, “Discovering iSCSI Targets by Using iSNS”.
Discovered Targets: To discover iSCSI target devices manually, continue with Sec-
tion 14.3.1.3, “Discovering iSCSI Targets Manually”.
14.3.1.2 Discovering iSCSI Targets by Using iSNS
Before you can use this option, you must have already installed and configured an iSNS server
in your environment. For information, see Chapter 13, iSNS for Linux.
1. In YaST, select iSCSI Initiator, then select the Service tab.
2. Specify the IP address of the iSNS server and port. The default port is 3205.
3. Click OK to save and apply your changes.
14.3.1.3 Discovering iSCSI Targets Manually
Repeat the following process for each of the iSCSI target servers that you want to access from
the server where you are setting up the iSCSI initiator.
1. In YaST, select iSCSI Initiator, then select the Discovered Targets tab.
2. Click Discovery to open the iSCSI Initiator Discovery dialog.
3. Enter the IP address and change the port if needed. The default port is 3260.
4. If authentication is required, deselect No Discovery Authentication, then specify the creden-

tials for Authentication by Initiator or Authentication by Targets.
5. Click Next to start the discovery and connect to the iSCSI target server.
157 Using YaST for the iSCSI Initiator Configuration SLES 12 SP3
6. If credentials are required, after a successful discovery, use Connect to activate the target.
You are prompted for authentication credentials to use the selected iSCSI target.
7. Click Next to finish the configuration.

The target now appears in Connected Targets and the virtual iSCSI device is now available.
9. You can nd the local device path for the iSCSI target device by using the lsscsi com-
mand.
14.3.1.4 Setting the Start-up Preference for iSCSI Target Devices
1. In YaST, select iSCSI Initiator, then select the Connected Targets tab to view a list of the
iSCSI target devices that are currently connected to the server.
2. Select the iSCSI target device that you want to manage.
3. Click Toggle Start-Up to modify the setting:
Automatic: This option is used for iSCSI targets that are to be connected when the iSCSI
service itself starts up. This is the typical configuration.
Onboot: This option is used for iSCSI targets that are to be connected during boot; that is,
when root ( / ) is on iSCSI. As such, the iSCSI target device will be evaluated from the initrd
on server boots. This option is ignored on platforms that cannot boot from iSCSI, such as
IBM z Systems. Therefore it should not be used on these platforms; use Automatic instead.
14.3.2 Setting Up the iSCSI Initiator Manually

Both the discovery and the configuration of iSCSI connections require a running iscsid. When
running the discovery the rst time, the internal database of the iSCSI initiator is created in the
directory /etc/iscsi/ .
158 Setting Up the iSCSI Initiator Manually SLES 12 SP3

If your discovery is password protected, provide the authentication information to iscsid. Be-
cause the internal database does not exist when doing the rst discovery, it cannot be used now.
Instead, the configuration le /etc/iscsid.conf must be edited to provide the information.
To add your password information for the discovery, add the following lines to the end of /
etc/iscsid.conf :
discovery.sendtargets.auth.authmethod = CHAP
discovery.sendtargets.auth.username = USERNAME
discovery.sendtargets.auth.password = PASSWORD
The discovery stores all received values in an internal persistent database. In addition, it displays
all detected targets. Run this discovery with the following command:
sudo iscsiadm -m discovery --type=st --portal=TARGET_IP
The output should look like the following:
10.44.171.99:3260,1 iqn.2006-02.com.example.iserv:systems
To discover the available targets on an iSNS server, use the following command:
sudo iscsiadm --mode discovery --type isns --portal TARGET_IP
For each target defined on the iSCSI target, one line appears. For more information about the
stored data, see Section 14.3.3, “The iSCSI Initiator Databases”.
The special --login option of iscsiadm creates all needed devices:
sudo iscsiadm -m node -n iqn.2006-02.com.example.iserv:systems --login
The newly generated devices show up in the output of lsscsi and can now be mounted.
14.3.3 The iSCSI Initiator Databases

All information that was discovered by the iSCSI initiator is stored in two database les that
reside in /etc/iscsi . There is one database for the discovery of targets and one for the dis-
covered nodes. When accessing a database, you rst must select if you want to get your data
from the discovery or from the node database. Do this with the -m discovery and -m node
parameters of iscsiadm . Using iscsiadm with one of these parameters gives an overview of
the stored records:
tux > sudo iscsiadm -m discovery
159 The iSCSI Initiator Databases SLES 12 SP3

10.44.171.99:3260,1 iqn.2006-02.com.example.iserv:systems
The target name in this example is iqn.2006-02.com.example.iserv:systems . This name is

needed for all actions that relate to this special data set. To examine the content of the data
record with the ID iqn.2006-02.com.example.iserv:systems , use the following command:
tux > sudo iscsiadm -m node --targetname iqn.2006-02.com.example.iserv:systems

node.name = iqn.2006-02.com.example.iserv:systems
node.transport_name = tcp
node.tpgt = 1
node.active_conn = 1
node.startup = manual
node.session.initial_cmdsn = 0
node.session.reopen_max = 32
node.session.auth.authmethod = CHAP
node.session.auth.username = joe
node.session.auth.password = ********
node.session.auth.username_in = EMPTY
node.session.auth.password_in = EMPTY
node.session.timeo.replacement_timeout = 0
node.session.err_timeo.abort_timeout = 10
node.session.err_timeo.reset_timeout = 30
node.session.iscsi.InitialR2T = No
node.session.iscsi.ImmediateData = Yes
....
To edit the value of one of these variables, use the command iscsiadm with the update op-
eration. For example, if you want iscsid to log in to the iSCSI target when it initializes, set the
variable node.startup to the value automatic :
sudo iscsiadm -m node -n iqn.2006-02.com.example.iserv:systems \

-p ip:port --op=update --name=node.startup --value=automatic
Remove obsolete data sets with the delete operation. If the target iqn.2006-02.com.exam-
ple.iserv:systems is no longer a valid record, delete this record with the following command:
sudo iscsiadm -m node -n iqn.2006-02.com.example.iserv:systems \

-p ip:port --op=delete
Important: No Confirmation
Use this option with caution because it deletes the record without any additional confir-
mation prompt.
160 The iSCSI Initiator Databases SLES 12 SP3

To get a list of all discovered targets, run the sudo iscsiadm -m node command.
14.4 Using iSCSI Disks when Installing

Booting from an iSCSI disk on AMD64/Intel 64 and IBM POWER architectures is supported when
iSCSI-enabled rmware is used.
To use iSCSI disks during installation, it is necessary to add the following parameter to the boot
option line:
withiscsi=1
During installation, an additional screen appears that provides the option to attach iSCSI disks
to the system and use them in the installation process.
Note: Mount Point Support

iSCSI devices will appear asynchronously during the boot process. While the initrd guar-
antees that those devices are set up correctly for the root le system, there are no such
guarantees for any other le systems or mount points like /usr . Hence any system mount
points like /usr or /var are not supported. To use those devices, ensure correct syn-
chronization of the respective services and devices.
14.5 Troubleshooting iSCSI

This section describes some known issues and possible solutions for iSCSI target and iSCSI ini-
tiator issues.
14.5.1 Portal Error When Setting Up Target LUNs on an iSCSI LIO

Target Server
When adding or editing an iSCSI LIO target group, you get an error:
Problem setting network portal IP_ADDRESS:3260
The /var/log/YasT2/y2log log le contains the following error:
find: `/sys/kernel/config/target/iscsi': No such file or directory
161 Using iSCSI Disks when Installing SLES 12 SP3

This problem occurs if the iSCSI LIO Target Server software is not currently running. To resolve
this issue, exit YaST, manually start iSCSI LIO at the command line with systemctl start
target , then try again.
You can also enter the following to check if configfs , iscsi_target_mod , and tar-
get_core_mod are loaded. A sample response is shown.
tux > sudo lsmod | grep iscsi

iscsi_target_mod 295015 0
target_core_mod 346745 4
iscsi_target_mod,target_core_pscsi,target_core_iblock,target_core_file
configfs 35817 3 iscsi_target_mod,target_core_mod
scsi_mod 231620 16
iscsi_target_mod,target_core_pscsi,target_core_mod,sg,sr_mod,mptctl,sd_mod,
scsi_dh_rdac,scsi_dh_emc,scsi_dh_alua,scsi_dh_hp_sw,scsi_dh,libata,mptspi,
mptscsih,scsi_transport_spi
14.5.2 iSCSI LIO Targets Are Not Visible from Other Computers
If you use a firewall on the target server, you must open the iSCSI port that you are using to
allow other computers to see the iSCSI LIO targets. For information, see Section 14.2.1, “iSCSI LIO
Target Service Start-up and Firewall Settings”.
14.5.3 Data Packets Dropped for iSCSI Traffic

A firewall might drop packets if it gets too busy. The default for the SUSE Firewall is to drop
packets after three minutes. If you nd that iSCSI traffic packets are being dropped, you can
consider configuring the SUSE Firewall to queue packets instead of dropping them when it gets
too busy.
14.5.4 Using iSCSI Volumes with LVM

Use the troubleshooting tips in this section when using LVM on iSCSI targets.
14.5.4.1 Check if the iSCSI Initiator Discovery Occurs at Boot

When you set up the iSCSI Initiator, ensure that you enable discovery at boot time so that udev
can discover the iSCSI devices at boot time and set up the devices to be used by LVM.
162 iSCSI LIO Targets Are Not Visible from Other Computers SLES 12 SP3
14.5.4.2 Check that iSCSI Target Discovery Occurs at Boot
Remember that udev provides the default setup for devices. Ensure that all of the applications
that create devices are started at boot time so that udev can recognize and assign devices for
them at system start-up. If the application or service is not started until later, udev does not
create the device automatically as it would at boot time.
14.5.5 iSCSI Targets Are Mounted When the Configuration File Is

Set to Manual
When Open-iSCSI starts, it can mount the targets even if the node.startup option is set to
manual in the /etc/iscsi/iscsid.conf le if you manually modified the configuration le.
Check the /etc/iscsi/nodes/TARGET_NAME/IP_ADDRESS,PORT/default le. It contains a
node.startup setting that overrides the /etc/iscsi/iscsid.conf le. Setting the mount
option to manual by using the YaST interface also sets node.startup = manual in the /etc/
iscsi/nodes/TARGET_NAME/IP_ADDRESS,PORT/default les.
14.6 iSCSI LIO Target Terminology

backstore
A physical storage object that provides the actual storage underlying an iSCSI endpoint.
CDB (command descriptor block)

The standard format for SCSI commands. CDBs are commonly 6, 10, or 12 bytes long,
though they can be 16 bytes or of variable length.
CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol)

A point-to-point protocol (PPP) authentication method used to confirm the identity of one
computer to another. After the Link Control Protocol (LCP) connects the two computers,
and the CHAP method is negotiated, the authenticator sends a random Challenge to the
peer. The peer issues a cryptographically hashed Response that depends upon the Chal-
lenge and a secret key. The authenticator verifies the hashed Response against its own
calculation of the expected hash value, and either acknowledges the authentication or ter-
minates the connection. CHAP is defined in the RFC 1994.
CID (connection identifier)
163 iSCSI Targets Are Mounted When the Configuration File Is Set to Manual SLES 12 SP3
A 16‐bit number, generated by the initiator, that uniquely identifies a connection between
two iSCSI devices. This number is presented during the login phase.
endpoint
The combination of an iSCSI Target Name with an iSCSI TPG (IQN + Tag).
EUI (extended unique identifier)

A 64‐bit number that uniquely identifies every device in the world. The format consists
of 24 bits that are unique to a given company, and 40 bits assigned by the company to
each device it builds.
initiator
The originating end of an SCSI session. Typically a controlling device such as a computer.
IPS (Internet Protocol storage)

The class of protocols or devices that use the IP protocol to move data in a storage network.
FCIP (Fibre Channel over Internet Protocol), iFCP (Internet Fibre Channel Protocol), and
iSCSI (Internet SCSI) are all examples of IPS protocols.
IQN (iSCSI qualified name)

A name format for iSCSI that uniquely identifies every device in the world (for example:
iqn.5886.com.acme.tapedrive.sn‐a12345678 ).
ISID (initiator session identifier)

A 48‐bit number, generated by the initiator, that uniquely identifies a session between the
initiator and the target. This value is created during the login process, and is sent to the
target with a Login PDU.
MCS (multiple connections per session)

A part of the iSCSI specification that allows multiple TCP/IP connections between an ini-
tiator and a target.
MPIO (multipath I/O)

A method by which data can take multiple redundant paths between a server and storage.
network portal
The combination of an iSCSI endpoint with an IP address plus a TCP (Transmission Control
Protocol) port. TCP port 3260 is the port number for the iSCSI protocol, as defined by
IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority).
SAM (SCSI architectural model)
164 iSCSI LIO Target Terminology SLES 12 SP3

A document that describes the behavior of SCSI in general terms, allowing for different
types of devices communicating over various media.
target
The receiving end of an SCSI session, typically a device such as a disk drive, tape drive,
or scanner.
target group (TG)

A list of SCSI target ports that are all treated the same when creating views. Creating a
view can help simplify LUN (logical unit number) mapping. Each view entry specifies a
target group, host group, and a LUN.
target port
The combination of an iSCSI endpoint with one or more LUNs.
target port group (TPG)

A list of IP addresses and TCP port numbers that determines which interfaces a specific
iSCSI target will listen to.
target session identifier (TSID)

A 16‐bit number, generated by the target, that uniquely identifies a session between the
initiator and the target. This value is created during the login process, and is sent to the
initiator with a Login Response PDU (protocol data units).

The iSCSI protocol has been available for several years. There are many reviews comparing iSCSI
with SAN solutions, benchmarking performance, and there also is documentation describing
hardware solutions. Important pages for more information about open-iscsi are:
Open-iSCSI Project (http://www.open-iscsi.com/ )
AppNote: iFolder on Open Enterprise Server Linux Cluster using iSCSI (http://www.novel-
l.com/coolsolutions/appnote/15394.html )
There is also some online documentation available. See the man pages for iscsiadm , iscsid ,
ietd.conf , and ietd and the example configuration le /etc/iscsid.conf .

15 Fibre Channel Storage over Ethernet Networks:
FCoE
Many enterprise data centers rely on Ethernet for their LAN and data traffic, and on Fibre Chan-
nel networks for their storage infrastructure. Open Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Initiator
software allows servers with Ethernet adapters to connect to a Fibre Channel storage subsystem
over an Ethernet network. This connectivity was previously reserved exclusively for systems
with Fibre Channel adapters over a Fibre Channel fabric. The FCoE technology reduces com-
plexity in the data center by aiding network convergence. This helps to preserve your existing
investments in a Fibre Channel storage infrastructure and to simplify network management.
Ethernet Switch
Network Backbone Network Backbone
Ethernet
Server 1 Server 2 Server 3 Server 4 Server 5 Server 6
Ethernet 10 Gbps
Card(s) Ethernet Card(s)
Open FCoE Open FCoE Open FCoE Open FCoE Open FCoE Open FCoE
Initiator Initiator Initiator Initiator Initiator Initiator
Lossless Fibre Channel Fibre Channel SAN

Ethernet
Fibre Channel
over Ethernet 10 Gbps Ethernet Switch with
SAN Fibre Channel Forwarder FC
Switch
FC Storage
Arrays
FIGURE 15.1: OPEN FIBRE CHANNEL OVER ETHERNET SAN
Open-FCoE allows you to run the Fibre Channel protocols on the host, instead of on propri-
etary hardware on the host bus adapter. It is targeted for 10 Gbps (gigabit per second) Ether-
net adapters, but can work on any Ethernet adapter that supports pause frames. The initiator
software provides a Fibre Channel protocol processing module and an Ethernet-based transport
module. The Open-FCoE module acts as a low-level driver for SCSI. The Open-FCoE transport
uses net_device to send and receive packets. Data Center Bridging (DCB) drivers provide the
quality of service for FCoE.
166 SLES 12 SP3

FCoE is an encapsulation protocol that moves the Fibre Channel protocol traffic over Ethernet
connections without changing the Fibre Channel frame. This allows your network security and
traffic management infrastructure to work the same with FCoE as it does with Fibre Channel.
You might choose to deploy FCoE in your enterprise if the following conditions exist:
Your enterprise already has a Fibre Channel storage subsystem and administrators with
Fibre Channel skills and knowledge.
You are deploying 10 Gbps Ethernet in the network.
This section describes how to set up FCoE in your network.
15.1 Configuring FCoE Interfaces during the

Installation
The YaST installation for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server allows you to configure FCoE disks during
the operating system installation if FCoE is enabled at the switch for the connections between the
server and the Fibre Channel storage infrastructure. Some system BIOS types can automatically
detect the FCoE disks, and report the disks to the YaST Installation software. However, automatic
detection of FCoE disks is not supported by all BIOS types. To enable automatic detection in
this case, you can add the withfcoe option to the kernel command line when you begin the
installation:
withfcoe=1
When the FCoE disks are detected, the YaST installation offers the option to configure FCoE
instances at that time. On the Disk Activation page, select Configure FCoE Interfaces to access
the FCoE configuration. For information about configuring the FCoE interfaces, see Section 15.3,
“Managing FCoE Services with YaST”.
167 Configuring FCoE Interfaces during the Installation SLES 12 SP3

Note: Mount Point Support
FCoE devices will appear asynchronously during the boot process. While the initrd guar-
antees that those devices are set up correctly for the root le system, there are no such
guarantees for any other le systems or mount points like /usr . Hence any system mount
points like /usr or /var are not supported. To use those devices, ensure correct syn-
chronization of the respective services and devices.
15.2 Installing FCoE and the YaST FCoE Client

You can set up FCoE disks in your storage infrastructure by enabling FCoE at the switch for
the connections to a server. If FCoE disks are available when the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
operating system is installed, the FCoE Initiator software is automatically installed at that time.
If the FCoE Initiator software and the YaST FCoE Client software are not installed, use the
following procedure to manually install them with the following command:
sudo zypper in yast2-fcoe-client fcoe-utils
Alternatively, use the YaST Software Manager to install the packages listed above.
168 Installing FCoE and the YaST FCoE Client SLES 12 SP3
15.3 Managing FCoE Services with YaST
You can use the YaST FCoE Client Configuration option to create, configure, and remove FCoE
interfaces for the FCoE disks in your Fibre Channel storage infrastructure. To use this option,
the FCoE Initiator service (the fcoemon daemon) and the Link Layer Discovery Protocol agent
daemon ( llpad ) must be installed and running, and the FCoE connections must be enabled at
the FCoE-capable switch.
1. Launch YaST and select Network Services FCoE Client Configuration.
2. On the Services tab, view or modify the FCoE service and Lldpad (Link Layer Discovery
Protocol agent daemon) service start time as necessary.
FCoE Service Start: Specifies whether to start the Fibre Channel over Ethernet service
fcoemon daemon at the server boot time or manually. The daemon controls the
FCoE interfaces and establishes a connection with the llpad daemon. The values
are When Booting (default) or Manually.
Lldpad Service Start: Specifies whether to start the Link Layer Discovery Protocol
agent llpad daemon at the server boot time or manually. The llpad daemon in-
forms the fcoemon daemon about the Data Center Bridging features and the config-
uration of the FCoE interfaces. The values are When Booting (default) or Manually.
169 Managing FCoE Services with YaST SLES 12 SP3

If you modify a setting, click OK to save and apply the change.
3. On the Interfaces tab, view information about all of the detected network adapters on the
server, including information about VLAN and FCoE configuration. You can also create an
FCoE VLAN interface, change settings for an existing FCoE interface, or remove an FCoE
interface.
Use the FCoE VLAN Interface column to determine whether FCoE is available or not:
Interface Name
If a name is assigned to the interface, such as eth4.200 , FCoE is available on the
switch, and the FCoE interface is activated for the adapter.
Not Configured:
If the status is not configured, FCoE is enabled on the switch, but an FCoE interface
has not been activated for the adapter. Select the adapter, then click Create FCoE
VLAN Interface to activate the interface on the adapter.
Not Available:
If the status is not available, FCoE is not possible for the adapter because FCoE has
not been enabled for that connection on the switch.
4. To set up an FCoE-enabled adapter that has not yet been configured, select it and click
Create FCoE VLAN Interface. Confirm the query with Yes.
The adapter is now listed with an interface name in the FCoE VLAN Interface column.
5. To change the settings for an adapter that is already configured, select it from the list,
then click Change Settings.

The following options can be configured:
FCoE Enable
Enable or disable the creation of FCoE instances for the adapter.
DCB Required
Specifies whether Data Center Bridging is required for the adapter (usually this is
the case).
Auto VLAN
Specifies whether the fcoemon daemon creates the VLAN interfaces automatically.
If you modify a setting, click Next to save and apply the change. The settings are written
to the /etc/fcoe/cfg-ethX le. The fcoemon daemon reads the configuration les for
each FCoE interface when it is initialized.
6. To remove an interface that is already configured, select it from the list. Click Remove
Interface and Continue to confirm. The FCoE Interface value changes to not configured.
7. On the Configuration tab, view or modify the general settings for the FCoE system ser-
vice. You can enable or disable debugging messages from the FCoE service script and the
fcoemon daemon and specify whether messages are sent to the system log.

8. Click OK to save and apply changes.
15.4 Configuring FCoE with Commands

2. Use YaST to configure the Ethernet network interface card, such as eth2 .
3. Start the Link Layer Discovery Protocol agent daemon ( llpad ).
sudo systemctl start lldpad
4. Enable Data Center Bridging on your Ethernet adapter.
tux > dcbtool sc eth2 dcb on

Version: 2
Command: Set Config
Feature: DCB State
Port: eth2
Status: Successful
5. Enable and set the Priority Flow Control (PFC) settings for Data Center Bridging.
sudo dcbtool sc eth<x> pfc e:1 a:1 w:1
Argument setting values are:
e:<0|1>
Controls feature enablement.
a:<0|1>
Controls whether the feature is advertised via Data Center Bridging Exchange pro-
tocol to the peer.
w:<0|1>
Controls whether the feature is willing to change its operational configuration based
on what is received from the peer.
6. Enable the Data Center Bridging to accept the switch’s priority setting for FCoE.
tux > sudo dcbtool sc eth2 app:fcoe e:1

Version: 2
172 Configuring FCoE with Commands SLES 12 SP3

Command: Set Config
Feature: Application FCoE
Port: eth2
Status: Successful
7. Copy the default FCoE configuration le to /etc/fcoe/cfg-eth2 .
sudo cp /etc/fcoe/cfg-ethx /etc/fcoe/cfg-eth2
8. Start the FCoE Initiator service.
systemctl start fcoe.service
9. Set up the Link Layer Discovery Protocol agent daemon ( llpad ) and the FCoE Initiator
service to start when booting.
systemctl enable llpad fcoe
15.5 Managing FCoE Instances with the FCoE

Administration Tool
The fcoeadm utility is the Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) management tool. It can be used
to create, destroy, and reset an FCoE instance on a given network interface. The fcoeadm utility
sends commands to a running fcoemon process via a socket interface. For information about
fcoemon , see the man 8 fcoemon .
The fcoeadm utility allows you to query the FCoE instances about the following:
Interfaces
Target LUNs
Port statistics
The fcoeadm utility is part of the fcoe-utils package. The general syntax for the command
looks like the following:
fcoeadm
[-c|--create] [<ethX>]
[-d|--destroy] [<ethX>]
[-r|--reset] [<ethX>]
173 Managing FCoE Instances with the FCoE Administration Tool SLES 12 SP3
[-S|--Scan] [<ethX>]
[-i|--interface] [<ethX>]
[-t|--target] [<ethX>]
[-l|--lun] [<ethX>]
[-s|--stats <ethX>] [<interval>]
[-v|--version]
[-h|--help]
Refer to man 8 fcoeadm for details.
Examples
fcoeadm -c eth2.101
Create an FCoE instance on eth2.101.
fcoeadm -d eth2.101
Destroy an FCoE instance on eth2.101.
fcoeadm -i eth3
Show information about all of the FCoE instances on interface eth3 . If no interface is
specified, information for all interfaces that have FCoE instances created will be shown.
The following example shows information on connection eth0.201:
tux > sudo fcoeadm -i eth0.201

Description: 82599EB 10-Gigabit SFI/SFP+ Network Connection
Revision: 01
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Serial Number: 001B219B258C
Driver: ixgbe 3.3.8-k2
Number of Ports: 1
Symbolic Name: fcoe v0.1 over eth0.201

OS Device Name: host8
Node Name: 0x1000001B219B258E
Port Name: 0x2000001B219B258E
FabricName: 0x2001000573D38141
Speed: 10 Gbit
Supported Speed: 10 Gbit
MaxFrameSize: 2112
FC-ID (Port ID): 0x790003
State: Online
fcoeadm -l eth3.101
174 Examples SLES 12 SP3

Show detailed information about all of the LUNs discovered on connection eth3.101. If
no connection is specified, information about all of the LUNs discovered on all FCoE con-
nections will be shown.
fcoeadm -r eth2.101
Reset the FCoE instance on eth2.101.
fcoeadm -s eth3 3
Show statistical information about a specific eth3 port that has FCoE instances, at an in-
terval of three seconds. The statistics are displayed one line per time interval. If no interval
is given, the default of one second is used.
fcoeadm -t eth3
Show information about all of the discovered targets from a given eth3 port having FCoE
instances. After each discovered target, any associated LUNs are listed. If no instance is
specified, targets from all of the ports that have FCoE instances are shown. The following
example shows information of targets from the eth0.201 connection:
tux > sudo fcoeadm -t eth0.201

Interface: eth0.201
Roles: FCP Target
Node Name: 0x200000D0231B5C72
Port Name: 0x210000D0231B5C72
Target ID: 0
MaxFrameSize: 2048
OS Device Name: rport-8:0-7
FC-ID (Port ID): 0x79000C
State: Online
LUN ID Device Name Capacity Block Size Description

------ ----------- ---------- ---------- ----------------------------
40 /dev/sdqi 792.84 GB 512 IFT DS S24F-R2840-4 (rev 386C)
72 /dev/sdpk 650.00 GB 512 IFT DS S24F-R2840-4 (rev 386C)
168 /dev/sdgy 1.30 TB 512 IFT DS S24F-R2840-4 (rev 386C)

For information, see the follow documentation:
For information about the Open-FCoE service daemon, see the fcoemon(8) man page.
For information about the Open-FCoE Administration tool, see the fcoeadm(8) man page.

For information about the Data Center Bridging Configuration tool, see the dcbtool(8)
man page.
For information about the Link Layer Discovery Protocol agent daemon, see the lld-
pad(8) man page.
For general information, see the Open-FCoE home page: http://www.open-fcoe.org/dokuwi-

ki/start .

16 NVMe over Fabric
This chapter describes how to set up an NVMe over Fabric host and target.
16.1 Overview
NVM Express (NVMe) is an interface standard for accessing non-volatile storage, commonly SSD
disks. NVMe supports much higher speeds and has a lower latency than SATA.
NVMe over Fabric is an architecture to access NVMe storage over different networking fabrics,
for example RDMA or NVMe over Fibre Channel (FC-NVMe). The role of NVMe over Fabric is sim-
ilar to iSCSI. To increase the fault-tolerance, NVMe over Fabric has a built-in support for multi-
pathing. The NVMe over Fabric multipathing is not based on the traditional DM-Multipathing.
The NVMe host is the machine that connects to an NVMe target. The NVMe target is the machine
that shares it's NVMe block devices.
NVMe is supported on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3. There are Kernel modules available
for the NVMe block storage and NVMe over Fabric target and host.
To see if your hardware requires any special consideration, refer to Section 16.4, “Special Hardware
Configuration”.
16.2 Setting Up an NVMe over Fabric Host

To use NVMe over Fabric, a target must be available with one of the supported networking
methods. Supported are NVMe over Fibre Channel and RDMA. The following sections describe
how to connect a host to a NVMe target.
16.2.1 Installing Command Line Client

To use NVMe over Fabric, you need the nvme command line tool. Install it with zypper :
tux > sudo zypper in nvme-cli
Use nvme --help to list all available subcommands. Man pages are available for nvme sub-
commands. Consult them by executing man nvme-SUBCOMMAND . For example, to view the man
page for the discover subcommand, execute man nvme-discover .
177 Overview SLES 12 SP3

16.2.2 Discovering NVMe over Fabric Targets
To list available NVMe subsystems on the NVMe over Fabric target, you need the discovery
controller address and service ID.
tux > sudo nvme discover -t TRANSPORT -a DISCOVERY_CONTROLLER_ADDRESS -s SERVICE_ID
Replace TRANSPORT with the underlying transport medium: loop , rdma or fc . Replace DIS-
COVERY_CONTROLLER_ADDRESS with the address of the discovery controller. For RDMA this
should be an IPv4 address. Replace SERVICE_ID with the transport service ID. If the service
is IP based, like RDMA, service ID specifies the port number. For Fibre Channel, the service ID
is not required.
The NVMe hosts only see the subsystems they are allowed to connect to.
Example:
tux > sudo nvme discover -t rdma -a 10.0.0.1 -s 4420
For more details, see man nvme-discover .
16.2.3 Connecting to NVMe over Fabric Targets

After you have identified the NVMe subsystem, you can connect it with the nvme connect
command.
tux > sudo nvme connect -t transport -a DISCOVERY_CONTROLLER_ADDRESS -s SERVICE_ID -

n SUBSYSTTEM_NQN
Replace TRANSPORT with the underlying transport medium: loop , rdma or fc . Replace DIS-
COVERY_CONTROLLER_ADDRESS with the address of the discovery controller. For RDMA this
should be an IPv4 address. Replace SERVICE_ID with the transport service ID. If the service is
IP based, like RDMA, this specifies the port number. Replace SUBSYSTTEM_NQN with the NVMe
qualified name of the desired subsystem as found by the discovery command. NQN is the ab-
breviation for NVMe Qualified Name. The NQN must be unique.
Example:
tux > sudo nvme connect -t rdma -a 10.0.0.1 -s 4420 -n nqn.2014-08.com.example:nvme:nvm-

subsystem-sn-d78432
Alternatively, use nvme connect-all to connect to all discovered namespaces. For advanced
usage please see man nvme-connect and man nvme-connect-all .
178 Discovering NVMe over Fabric Targets SLES 12 SP3

16.2.4 Multipathing
NVMe native multipathing is enabled by default. To print the layout of the multipath devices, use
the command nvme list-subsys . To disable NVMe native multipathing, add nvme-core.mul-
tipath=N as a boot parameter.
16.3 Setting Up an NVMe over Fabric Target
16.3.1 Installing Command Line Client

To configure a NVMe over Fabric target, you need the nvmetcli command line tool. Install
it with zypper :
tux > sudo zypper in nvmetcli
The current documentation for nvmetcli is available at http://git.infradead.org/users/hch/

nvmetcli.git/blob_plain/HEAD:/Documentation/nvmetcli.txt
16.3.2 Configuration Steps

The following procedure provides an example how to set up an NVMe over Fabric target.
The configuration is stored in a tree structure. Use the command cd to navigate. Use ls to list
objects. You can create new objects with create .
1. Start the nvmectli interactive shell.
tux > sudo nvmetcli
2. Create a new port.
(nvmetcli)> cd ports
(nvmetcli)> create 1
(nvmetcli)> ls 1/
o- 1
o- referrals
o- subsystems
3. Create an NVMe subsystem.
(nvmetcli)> cd /subsystems
179 Multipathing SLES 12 SP3

(nvmetcli)> create nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress:NVMf:uuid:c36f2c23-354d-416c-95de-
f2b8ec353a82
(nvmetcli)> cd nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress:NVMf:uuid:c36f2c23-354d-416c-95de-
f2b8ec353a82/
(nvmetcli)> ls
o- nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress:NVMf:uuid:c36f2c23-354d-416c-95de-f2b8ec353a82
o- allowed_hosts
o- namespaces
4. Create a new namespace and set an NVMe device to it.
(nvmetcli)> cd namespaces
(nvmetcli)> create 1
(nvmetcli)> cd 1
(nvmetcli)> set device path=/dev/nvme0n1
Parameter path is now '/dev/nvme0n1'.
5. Enable the previously created namespace.
(nvmetcli)> cd ..
(nvmetcli)> enable
The Namespace has been enabled.
6. Display the created namespace.
(nvmetcli)> cd ..
(nvmetcli)> ls
o- allowed_hosts
o- namespaces
o- 1
7. Allow all hosts to use the subsystem. Only do this in secure environments.
(nvmetcli)> set attr allow_any_host=1

Parameter allow_any_host is now '1'.
Alternatively, you can allow only specific hosts to connect:
(nvmetcli)> cd nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress:NVMf:uuid:c36f2c23-354d-416c-95de-
f2b8ec353a82/allowed_hosts/
(nvmetcli)> create hostnqn
8. List all created objects:
(nvmetcli)> cd /
180 Configuration Steps SLES 12 SP3

(nvmetcli)> ls
o- /
o- hosts
o- ports
| o- 1
| o- referrals
| o- subsystems
o- subsystems
o- allowed_hosts
o- namespaces
o- 1
9. Make the target available via RDMA:
(nvmetcli)> cd ports/1/
(nvmetcli)> set addr adrfam=ipv4 trtype=rdma traddr=10.0.0.1 trsvcid=4420
Parameter trtype is now 'rdma'.
Parameter adrfam is now 'ipv4'.
Parameter trsvcid is now '4420'.
Parameter traddr is now '10.0.0.1'.
Alternatively, you can make it available with Fibre Channel:
(nvmetcli)> cd ports/1/
(nvmetcli)> set addr adrfam=fc trtype=fc
traddr=nn-0x1000000044001123:pn-0x2000000055001123 trsvcid=none
16.3.3 Back Up and Restore Target Configuration

You can save the target configuration in a JSON le with the following commands:
tux > sudo nvmetcli

(nvmetcli)> saveconfig nvme-target-backup.json
To restore the configuration, use:
(nvmetcli)> restore nvme-target-backup.json
You can also wipe the current configuration:
(nvmetcli)> clear
181 Back Up and Restore Target Configuration SLES 12 SP3

16.4 Special Hardware Configuration
16.4.1 Overview
Some hardware needs special configuration to work correctly. Skim the titles of the following
sections to see if you are using any of the mentioned devices or vendors.
16.4.2 Broadcom
If you are using the Broadcom Emulex LightPulse Fibre Channel SCSI driver, add a Kernel config-
uration parameter on the target and host for the lpfc module:
tux > sudo echo "options lpfc lpfc_enable_fc4_type=3" > /etc/modprobe.d/lpfc.conf
Make sure that the Broadcom adapter rmware has at least version 11.2.156.27. Also make sure
that you have the current versions of nvme-cli , nvmetlci and the Kernel installed.
To enable a Fibre Channel port as an NVMe target, set a module parameter lpfc_enable_n-
vmet= COMMA_SEPARATED_WWPNS . Only listed WWPNs will be configured for target mode. A
Fibre Channel port can either be configured as target or as initiator.
For more details, also refer to https://docs.broadcom.com/docs/12379413 .
16.5 More Information

For more details about the abilities of nvme , refer to nvme nvme-help .
The following links provide a basic introduction to NVMe and NVMe over Fabric:
http://nvmexpress.org/
http://www.nvmexpress.org/wp-content/uploads/NVMe_Over_Fabrics.pdf
https://storpool.com/blog/demystifying-what-is-nvmeof
https://medium.com/@metebalci/a-quick-tour-of-nvm-express-nvme-3da2246ce4ef
182 Special Hardware Configuration SLES 12 SP3

17 Managing Multipath I/O for Devices
This section describes how to manage failover and path load balancing for multiple paths be-
tween the servers and block storage devices by using Multipath I/O (MPIO).
17.1 Understanding Multipath I/O

Multipathing is the ability of a server to communicate with the same physical or logical block
storage device across multiple physical paths between the host bus adapters in the server and the
storage controllers for the device, typically in Fibre Channel (FC) or iSCSI SAN environments.
You can also achieve multiple connections with direct attached storage when multiple channels
are available.
Linux multipathing provides connection fault tolerance and can provide load balancing across
the active connections. When multipathing is configured and running, it automatically isolates
and identifies device connection failures, and reroutes I/O to alternate connections.
Typical connection problems involve faulty adapters, cables, or controllers. When you configure
multipath I/O for a device, the multipath driver monitors the active connection between devices.
When the multipath driver detects I/O errors for an active path, it fails over the traffic to the
device’s designated secondary path. When the preferred path becomes healthy again, control
can be returned to the preferred path.
17.2 Hardware Support

The multipathing drivers and tools support all architectures for which SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server is available. They support most storage arrays. The storage array that houses the multi-
pathed device must support multipathing to use the multipathing drivers and tools. Some storage
array vendors provide their own multipathing management tools. Consult the vendor’s hardware
documentation to determine what settings are required.
183 Understanding Multipath I/O SLES 12 SP3

17.2.1 Storage Arrays That Are Automatically Detected for
Multipathing
The multipath-tools package automatically detects the following storage arrays:
3PARdata VV
AIX NVDISK
AIX VDASD
APPLE Xserve RAID
COMPELNT Compellent Vol
COMPAQ/HP HSV101, HSV111, HSV200, HSV210, HSV300, HSV400, HSV 450
COMPAQ/HP MSA, HSV
COMPAQ/HP MSA VOLUME
DataCore SANmelody
DDN SAN DataDirector
DEC HSG80
DELL MD3000
DELL MD3000i
DELL MD32xx
DELL MD32xxi
DGC
EMC Clariion
EMC Invista
EMC SYMMETRIX
EUROLOGC FC2502
FSC CentricStor
FUJITSU ETERNUS_DX, DXL, DX400, DX8000
HITACHI DF
HITACHI/HP OPEN
HP A6189A
HP HSVX700
HP LOGICAL VOLUME
HP MSA2012fc, MSA 2212fc, MSA2012i
HP MSA2012sa, MSA2312 fc/i/sa, MCA2324 fc/i/sa, MSA2000s VOLUME
HP P2000 G3 FC|P2000G3 FC/iSCSI|P2000 G3 SAS|P2000 G3 iSCSI
IBM 1722-600
IBM 1724
184 Storage Arrays That Are Automatically Detected for Multipathing SLES 12 SP3
IBM 1726
IBM 1742
IBM 1745, 1746
IBM 1750500
IBM 1814
IBM 1815
IBM 1818
IBM 1820N00
IBM 2105800
IBM 2105F20
IBM 2107900
IBM 2145
IBM 2810XIV
IBM 3303 NVDISK
IBM 3526
IBM 3542
IBM IPR
IBM Nseries
IBM ProFibre 4000R
IBM S/390 DASD ECKD
IBM S/390 DASD FBA
Intel Multi-Flex
LSI/ENGENIO INF-01-00
NEC DISK ARRAY
NETAPP LUN
NEXENTA COMSTAR
Pillar Axiom
PIVOT3 RAIGE VOLUME
SGI IS
SGI TP9100, TP 9300
SGI TP9400, TP9500
STK FLEXLINE 380
STK OPENstorage D280
SUN CSM200_R
SUN LCSM100_[IEFS]
SUN STK6580, STK6780
185 Storage Arrays That Are Automatically Detected for Multipathing SLES 12 SP3
SUN StorEdge 3510, T4
SUN SUN_6180
In general, most other storage arrays should work. When storage arrays are automatically de-
tected, the default settings for multipathing apply. If you want non-default settings, you must
manually create and configure the /etc/multipath.conf le. The same applies for hardware
that is not automatically detected. For information, see Section 17.6, “Creating or Modifying the /
etc/multipath.conf File”.
Consider the following caveats:
Not all of the storage arrays that are automatically detected have been tested on SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server. Also see Section 17.2.2, “Tested Storage Arrays for Multipathing Support”.
Some storage arrays might require specific hardware handlers. A hardware handler is a
kernel module that performs hardware-specific actions when switching path groups and
dealing with I/O errors. For information, see Section 17.2.3, “Storage Arrays that Require Spe-
cific Hardware Handlers”.
After each modification of the /etc/multipath.conf le, you must run dracut -f to
re-create the initrd on your system. Reboot afterward for the changes to take effect.
17.2.2 Tested Storage Arrays for Multipathing Support

Storage arrays from the following vendors have been tested with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server:
EMC
Hitachi
Hewlett-Packard/Compaq
IBM
NetApp
SGI
Most other vendor storage arrays should also work. Consult your vendor’s documentation for
guidance. For a list of the default storage arrays recognized by the multipath-tools package,
see Section 17.2.1, “Storage Arrays That Are Automatically Detected for Multipathing”.
186 Tested Storage Arrays for Multipathing Support SLES 12 SP3

17.2.3 Storage Arrays that Require Specific Hardware Handlers
Storage arrays that require special commands on failover from one path to the other or that
require special nonstandard error handling might require more extensive support. Therefore,
the Device Mapper Multipath service has hooks for hardware handlers. For example, one such
handler for the EMC CLARiiON CX family of arrays is already provided.
Important: For More Information

Consult the hardware vendor’s documentation to determine if its hardware handler must
be installed for Device Mapper Multipath.
The multipath -t command shows an internal table of storage arrays that require special
handling with specific hardware handlers. The displayed list is not an exhaustive list of support-
ed storage arrays. It lists only those arrays that require special handling and that the multi-
path-tools developers had access to during the tool development.
Important: Exceptions
Arrays with true active/active multipath support do not require special handling, so they
are not listed for the multipath -t command.
A listing in the multipath -t table does not necessarily mean that SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server was tested on that specific hardware. For a list of tested storage arrays, see Section 17.2.2,
“Tested Storage Arrays for Multipathing Support”.
17.3 Planning for Multipathing

Use the guidelines in this section when planning your multipath I/O solution.
17.3.1 Prerequisites
Multipathing is managed at the device level.
The storage array you use for the multipathed device must support multipathing. For more
information, see Section 17.2, “Hardware Support”.
187 Storage Arrays that Require Specific Hardware Handlers SLES 12 SP3
You need to configure multipathing only if multiple physical paths exist between host bus
adapters in the server and host bus controllers for the block storage device. You configure
multipathing for the logical device as seen by the server.
For some storage arrays, the vendor provides its own multipathing software to manage
multipathing for the array’s physical and logical devices. In this case, you should follow
the vendor’s instructions for configuring multipathing for those devices.
When using multipathing in a virtualization environment, the multipathing is controlled

in the host server environment. Configure multipathing for the device before you assign
it to a virtual guest machine.
17.3.2 Disk Management Tasks

Perform the following disk management tasks before you attempt to configure multipathing for
a physical or logical device that has multiple paths:
Use third-party tools to carve physical disks into smaller logical disks.
Use third-party tools to partition physical or logical disks. If you change the partitioning in
the running system, the Device Mapper Multipath (DM-MP) module does not automatically
detect and reflect these changes. DM-MPIO must be re-initialized, which usually requires
a reboot.
Use third-party SAN array management tools to create and configure hardware RAID de-
vices.
Use third-party SAN array management tools to create logical devices such as LUNs. Logical
device types that are supported for a given array depend on the array vendor.
17.3.3 Software RAIDs

The Linux software RAID management software runs on top of multipathing. For each device that
has multiple I/O paths and that you plan to use in a software RAID, you must configure the device
for multipathing before you attempt to create the software RAID device. Automatic discovery
of multipathed devices is not available. The software RAID is not aware of the multipathing
management running underneath.
188 Disk Management Tasks SLES 12 SP3

For information about setting up multipathing for existing software RAIDs, see Section 17.12,
“Configuring Multipath I/O for an Existing Software RAID”.
17.3.4 High-Availability Solutions

High-availability solutions for clustering storage resources run on top of the multipathing service
on each node. Make sure that the configuration settings in the /etc/multipath.conf le on
each node are consistent across the cluster.
Make sure that multipath devices have the same name across all devices. Refer to Section 17.9.1,
“Multipath Device Names in HA Clusters” for details.
The Distributed Replicated Block Device (DRBD) high-availability solution for mirroring devices
across a LAN runs on top of multipathing. For each device that has multiple I/O paths and that
you plan to use in a DRDB solution, you must configure the device for multipathing before you
configure DRBD.
17.3.5 Always Keep the initrd in Synchronization with the

System Configuration
One of the most important requirements when using Multipath is to make sure that the initrd
and the installed system behave the same regarding the root le system and all other le systems
required to boot the system. If Multipath is enabled in the system, it also needs to be enabled in
the initrd and vice versa. See Section 17.5.1, “Enabling, Disabling, Starting and Stopping Multipath
I/O Services” for details.
If the initrd and the system are not synchronized, the system will not properly boot and
the start-up procedure will result in an emergency shell. See Section 17.15.1, “The System Exits to
Emergency Shell at Boot When Multipath Is Enabled” for instructions on how to avoid or repair such
a scenario.
17.4 Multipath Management Tools

The multipathing support in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is based on the Device Mapper Multi-
path module of the Linux kernel and the multipath-tools user space package. You can use the
Multiple Devices Administration utility ( multipath ) to view the status of multipathed devices.
189 High-Availability Solutions SLES 12 SP3

17.4.1 Device Mapper Multipath Module
The Device Mapper Multipath (DM-MP) module provides the multipathing capability for Linux.
DM-MPIO is the preferred solution for multipathing on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. It is the
only multipathing option shipped with the product that is completely supported by SUSE.
DM-MPIO features automatic configuration of the multipathing subsystem for a large variety
of setups. Configurations of up to eight paths to each device are supported. Configurations are
supported for active/passive (one path active, others passive) or active/active (all paths active
with round-robin load balancing).
The DM-MPIO framework is extensible in two ways:
Using specific hardware handlers. For information, see Section 17.2.3, “Storage Arrays that
Require Specific Hardware Handlers”.
Using load-balancing algorithms that are more sophisticated than the round-robin algo-
rithm.
The user space component of DM-MPIO takes care of automatic path discovery and grouping,
and automated path retesting, so that a previously failed path is automatically reinstated when
it becomes healthy again. This minimizes the need for administrator attention in a production
environment.
DM-MPIO protects against failures in the paths to the device, and not failures in the device itself.
If one of the active paths is lost (for example, a network adapter breaks or a ber-optic cable is
removed), I/O is redirected to the remaining paths. If the configuration is active/passive, then
the path fails over to one of the passive paths. If you are using the round-robin load-balancing
configuration, the traffic is balanced across the remaining healthy paths. If all active paths fail,
inactive secondary paths must be woken up, so failover occurs with a delay of approximately
30 seconds.
If a disk array has more than one storage processor, ensure that the SAN switch has a connection
to the storage processor that owns the LUNs you want to access. On most disk arrays, all LUNs
belong to both storage processors, so both connections are active.
190 Device Mapper Multipath Module SLES 12 SP3

Note: Storage Processors
On some disk arrays, the storage array manages the traffic through storage processors so
that it presents only one storage processor at a time. One processor is active and the other
one is passive until there is a failure. If you are connected to the wrong storage processor
(the one with the passive path) you might not see the expected LUNs, or you might see
the LUNs but get errors when you try to access them.
TABLE 17.1: MULTIPATH I/O FEATURES OF STORAGE ARRAYS
Features of Storage Ar- Description

rays
Active/passive con- One controller is active and serves all LUNs. The second con-
trollers troller acts as a standby. The second controller also presents the
LUNs to the multipath component so that the operating system
knows about redundant paths. If the primary controller fails, the
second controller takes over, and it serves all LUNs.
In some arrays, the LUNs can be assigned to different con-
trollers. A given LUN is assigned to one controller to be its ac-
tive controller. One controller does the disk I/O for any LUN at
a time, and the second controller is the standby for that LUN.
The second controller also presents the paths, but disk I/O is not
possible. Servers that use that LUN are connected to the LUN’s
assigned controller. If the primary controller for a set of LUNs
fails, the second controller takes over, and it serves all LUNs.
Active/active controllers Both controllers share the load for all LUNs, and can process
disk I/O for any LUN. If one controller fails, the second con-
troller automatically handles all traffic.
Load balancing The Device Mapper Multipath driver automatically load bal-
ances traffic across all active paths.
Controller failover When the active controller fails over to the passive, or standby,
controller, the Device Mapper Multipath driver automatically
activates the paths between the host and the standby, making
them the primary paths.
191 Device Mapper Multipath Module SLES 12 SP3

Features of Storage Ar- Description
rays
Boot/Root device sup- Multipathing is supported for the root ( / ) device in SUSE Lin-
port ux Enterprise Server 10 and later. The host server must be con-
nected to the currently active controller and storage processor
for the boot device.
Multipathing is supported for the /boot device in SUSE Linux
Enterprise Server 11 and later.
Device Mapper Multipath detects every path for a multipathed device as a separate SCSI device.
The SCSI device names take the form /dev/sdN , where N is an autogenerated letter for the
device, beginning with a and issued sequentially as the devices are created, such as /dev/sda ,
/dev/sdb , and so on. If the number of devices exceeds 26, the letters are duplicated so that the
next device after /dev/sdz will be named /dev/sdaa , /dev/sdab , and so on.
If multiple paths are not automatically detected, you can configure them manually in the /etc/
multipath.conf le. The multipath.conf le does not exist until you create and configure
it. For information, see Section 17.6, “Creating or Modifying the /etc/multipath.conf File”.
17.4.2 Multipath I/O Management Tools

The packages multipath-tools and kpartx provide tools that take care of automatic path
discovery and grouping. They automatically test the path periodically, so that a previously failed
path is automatically reinstated when it becomes healthy again. This minimizes the need for
administrator attention in a production environment.
TABLE 17.2: TOOLS IN THE MULTIPATH-TOOLS PACKAGE
Tool Description
multipath Scans the system for multipathed devices and assembles them.
multipathd Waits for maps events, then executes multipath .
kpartx Maps linear devmaps to partitions on the multipathed device,

which makes it possible to create multipath monitoring for par-
titions on the device.
192 Multipath I/O Management Tools SLES 12 SP3

Tool Description
mpathpersist Manages SCSI-persistent reservations on Device Mapper Multi-

path devices.ppc
17.4.3 Using MDADM for Multipathed Devices

Udev is the default device handler, and devices are automatically known to the system by the
Worldwide ID instead of by the device node name. This resolves problems in previous releases of
MDADM and LVM where the configuration les ( mdadm.conf and lvm.conf) did not properly
recognize multipathed devices.
As with LVM2, MDADM requires that the devices be accessed by the ID rather than by the device
node path. Therefore, the DEVICE entry in /etc/mdadm.conf should be set as follows:
DEVICE /dev/disk/by-id/*
If you are using user-friendly names, specify the path as follows so that only the device mapper
names are scanned after multipathing is configured:
DEVICE /dev/disk/by-id/dm-uuid-.*-mpath-.*
17.4.4 The multipath Command

Use the Linux multipath(8) command to configure and manage multipathed devices. The
general syntax for the command looks like the following:
multipath [-v verbosity_level] [-b bindings_file] [-d] [-h|-l|-ll|-f|-F|-B|-c|-q|-

r|-w|-W|-t] [-p failover|multibus|group_by_serial|group_by_prio|group_by_node_name]
[DEVICENAME]
Refer to man 8 multipath for details.
General Examples
multipath
Configures all multipath devices.
multipath DEVICENAME
Configures a specific multipath device.
193 Using MDADM for Multipathed Devices SLES 12 SP3

Replace DEVICENAME with the device node name such as /dev/sdb (as shown by udev in
the $DEVNAME variable), or in the major:minor format. The device may alternatively
be a multipath map name.
multipath -f
Selectively suppresses a multipath map, and its device-mapped partitions.
multipath -d
Dry run. Displays potential multipath devices, but does not create any devices and does
not update device maps.
multipath -v2 -d
Displays multipath map information for potential multipath devices in a dry run. The -v2
option shows only local disks. This verbosity level prints the created or updated multipath
names only for use to feed other tools like kpartx.
There is no output if the device already exists and there are no changes. Use multipath
-ll to see the status of configured multipath devices.
multipath -v2 DEVICENAME

Configures a specific potential multipath device and displays multipath map information
for it. This verbosity level prints only the created or updated multipath names for use to
feed other tools like kpartx .
There is no output if the device already exists and there are no changes. Use multipath
-ll to see the status of configured multipath devices.
Replace DEVICENAME with the device node name such as /dev/sdb (as shown by udev
in the $DEVNAME variable), or in the major:minor format. The device may alternatively
multipath -v3
Configures potential multipath devices and displays multipath map information for them.
This verbosity level prints all detected paths, multipaths, and device maps. Both WWID
and devnode blacklisted devices are displayed.
multipath -v3 DEVICENAME

Configures a specific potential multipath device and displays information for it. The -v3
option shows the full path list. This verbosity level prints all detected paths, multipaths,
and device maps. Both WWID and devnode blacklisted devices are displayed.
194 The multipath Command SLES 12 SP3

multipath -ll
Displays the status of all multipath devices.
multipath -ll DEVICENAME

Displays the status of a specified multipath device.
multipath -F
Flushes all unused multipath device maps. This unresolves the multiple paths; it does not
delete the devices.
multipath -F DEVICENAME
Flushes unused multipath device maps for a specified multipath device. This unresolves
the multiple paths; it does not delete the device.
multipath -p [ failover | multibus | group_by_serial | group_by_prio | group_by_node_name ]

Sets the group policy by specifying one of the group policy options that are described in
the following table:
TABLE 17.3: GROUP POLICY OPTIONS FOR THE MULTIPATH -P COMMAND
Policy Option Description
failover (Default) One path per priority group. You can use only one
path at a time.
multibus All paths in one priority group.
group_by_serial One priority group per detected SCSI serial number (the con-
troller node worldwide number).
group_by_prio One priority group per path priority value. Paths with the
same priority are in the same priority group. Priorities are de-
termined by callout programs specified as a global, per-con-
troller, or per-multipath option in the /etc/multipath.conf
configuration le.
195 The multipath Command SLES 12 SP3

group_by_node_name One priority group per target node name. Target node
names are fetched in the /sys/class/fc_transport/tar-
get*/node_name location.
multipath -t
Shows internal hardware table and active configuration of multipath. Refer to man mul-
tipath for details about the configuration parameters.
17.4.5 The mpathpersist Utility

The mpathpersist utility can be used to manage SCSI persistent reservations on Device Mapper
Multipath devices. The general syntax for the command looks like the following:
mpathpersist [options] [device]
Refer to man 8 mpathpersist for details.

Use this utility with the service action reservation key ( reservation_key attribute) in the /
etc/multipath.conf le to set persistent reservations for SCSI devices. The attribute is not
used by default. If it is not set, the multipathd daemon does not check for persistent reservation
for newly discovered paths or reinstated paths.
reservation_key <RESERVATION_KEY>
You can add the attribute to the defaults section or the multipaths section. For example:
multipaths {
multipath {
wwid XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
alias yellow
reservation_key 0x123abc
}
}
Set the reservation_key parameter for all mpath devices applicable for persistent manage-
ment, then restart the multipathd daemon by running the following command:
sudo systemctl restart multipathd
196 The mpathpersist Utility SLES 12 SP3

After it is set up, you can specify the reservation key in the mpathpersist commands.
Examples
mpathpersist --out --register --param-sark=123abc --prout-type=5 -d /dev/mapper/mpath9

Register the Service Action Reservation Key for the /dev/mapper/mpath9 device.
mpathpersist -i -k -d /dev/mapper/mpath9
Read the Service Action Reservation Key for the /dev/mapper/mpath9 device.
mpathpersist --out --reserve --param-sark=123abc --prout-type=8 -d /dev/mapper/mpath9

Reserve the Service Action Reservation Key for the /dev/mapper/mpath9 device.
mpathpersist -i -s -d /dev/mapper/mpath9
Read the reservation status of the /dev/mapper/mpath9 device.
17.5 Configuring the System for Multipathing
17.5.1 Enabling, Disabling, Starting and Stopping Multipath I/O

Services
To enable multipath services to start at boot time, run the following command:
sudo systemctl enable multipathd
To manually start the service in the running system or to check its status, enter one of the
following commands:
sudo systemctl start multipathd

sudo systemctl status multipathd
To stop the multipath services in the current session and to disable it, so it will not be started
the next time the system is booted, run the following commands:
sudo systemctl stop multipathd

sudo systemctl disable multipathd
197 Configuring the System for Multipathing SLES 12 SP3

Important: Rebuilding the initrd
Whenever you enable or disable the multipath services it is also required to rebuild the
initrd , otherwise the system may not boot anymore. When enabling the multipath ser-
vices, also run the following command to rebuild the initrd:
dracut --force --add multipath
When disabling the services, then run the following command to rebuild the initrd:
dracut --force -o multipath
Additionally and optionally, if you also want to make sure multipath devices do not get
set up, even when starting multipath manually, add the following lines to the end of /
etc/multipath.conf before rebuilding the initrd:
blacklist {
wwid ".*"
}
17.5.2 Preparing SAN Devices for Multipathing

Before configuring multipath I/O for your SAN devices, prepare the SAN devices, as necessary,
by doing the following:
Configure and zone the SAN with the vendor’s tools.
Configure permissions for host LUNs on the storage arrays with the vendor’s tools.
Install the Linux HBA driver module. Upon module installation, the driver automatically
scans the HBA to discover any SAN devices that have permissions for the host. It presents
them to the host for further configuration.
Note: No Native Multipathing

Make sure that the HBA driver you are using does not have native multipathing
enabled.
See the vendor’s specific instructions for more details.
198 Preparing SAN Devices for Multipathing SLES 12 SP3

After the driver module is loaded, discover the device nodes assigned to specific array
LUNs or partitions.
If the SAN device will be used as the root device on the server, modify the timeout settings
for the device as described in Section 17.14.9, “SAN Timeout Settings When the Root Device Is
Multipathed”.
If the LUNs are not seen by the HBA driver, lsscsi can be used to check whether the SCSI
devices are seen correctly by the operating system. When the LUNs are not seen by the HBA
driver, check the zoning setup of the SAN. In particular, check whether LUN masking is active
and whether the LUNs are correctly assigned to the server.
If the LUNs are seen by the HBA driver, but there are no corresponding block devices, additional
kernel parameters are needed to change the SCSI device scanning behavior, such as to indicate
that LUNs are not numbered consecutively. For information, see TID 3955167: Troubleshooting
SCSI (LUN) Scanning Issues in the SUSE Knowledgebase at https://www.suse.com/support/kb/
doc.php?id=3955167 .
17.5.3 Partitioning Multipath Devices

Partitioning devices that have multiple paths is not recommended, but it is supported. You
can use the kpartx tool to create partitions on multipath devices without rebooting. You can
also partition the device before you attempt to configure multipathing by using the Partitioner
function in YaST, or by using a third-party partitioning tool.
Multipath devices are device-mapper devices. Modifying device-mapper devices with command
line tools (such as parted, kpartx, or fdisk) works, but it does not necessarily generate the udev
events that are required to update other layers. After you partition the device-mapper device,
you should check the multipath map to make sure the device-mapper devices were mapped. If
they are missing, you can remap the multipath devices or reboot the server to pick up all of the
new partitions in the multipath map.
The device-mapper device for a partition on a multipath device is not the same as an independent
device. When you create an LVM logical volume using the whole device, you must specify a
device that contains no partitions. If you specify a multipath partition as the target device for
the LVM logical volume, LVM recognizes that the underlying physical device is partitioned and
the create fails. If you need to subdivide a SAN device, you can carve LUNs on the SAN device
and present each LUN as a separate multipath device to the server.
199 Partitioning Multipath Devices SLES 12 SP3

17.6 Creating or Modifying the /etc/multipath.conf
File
The /etc/multipath.conf le does not exist unless you create it. Default multipath device
settings are applied automatically when the multipathd daemon runs unless you create the
multipath configuration le and personalize the settings.
Important: Testing and Permanently Applying

Changes from /etc/multipath.conf
Whenever you create or modify the /etc/multipath.conf le, the changes are not
automatically applied when you save the le. This allows you to perform a dry run to
verify your changes before they are committed. When you are satisfied with the revised
settings, you can update the multipath maps as described in Section 17.6.4, “Applying the /
etc/multipath.conf File Changes to Update the Multipath Maps”.
17.6.1 Creating the /etc/multipath.conf File
1. Create an empty /etc/multipath.conf le with an editor of your choice.
2. Make sure to add an appropriate device section for your SAN. Most vendors provide
documentation on the proper setup of the device section. Note that different SANs re-
quire individual device sections.
If you are using a storage subsystem that is automatically detected (see Section 17.2.1,
“Storage Arrays That Are Automatically Detected for Multipathing”), adding a device is not re-
quired—the default settings for this device will be applied in this case.
3. Create a blacklist section containing all non-multipath devices of your machine. Refer
to Section 17.8, “Blacklisting Non-Multipath Devices” for details.
4. If required, add more sections to the configuration le. Refer to Section 17.6.2, “Sections in
the /etc/multipath.conf File” for a brief introduction. More details are available when
running man 5 multipath.conf .
5. When finished, save /etc/multipath.conf and test your settings as described in Sec-
tion 17.6.3, “Verifying the Multipath Setup in the /etc/multipath.conf File”.
200 Creating or Modifying the /etc/multipath.conf File SLES 12 SP3

6. When you have successfully verified the configuration, apply it as described in Sec-
tion 17.6.4, “Applying the /etc/multipath.conf File Changes to Update the Multipath Maps”.
17.6.2 Sections in the /etc/multipath.conf File

The /etc/multipath.conf le is organized into the following sections. See man 5 multi-
path.conf for details.
defaults
General default settings for multipath I/0. These values are used if no values are given in
the appropriate device or multipath sections. For information, see Section 17.7, “Configuring
Default Policies for Polling, Queuing, and Failback”.
blacklist
Lists the device names to discard as not multipath candidates. Devices can be identified
by their device node name ( devnode ), their WWID ( wwid ), or their vendor or product
strings ( device ). You can typically ignore non-multipathed devices, such as hpsa , fd ,
hd , md , dm , sr , scd , st , ram , raw , loop . For more information and examples, see
Section 17.8, “Blacklisting Non-Multipath Devices”.
blacklist_exceptions
Lists the device names of devices to be treated as multipath candidates even if they are
on the blacklist. Devices can be identified by their device node name ( devnode ), their
WWID ( wwid ), or their vendor or product strings ( device ). You must specify the excepted
devices by using the same keyword that you used in the blacklist. For example, if you
used the devnode keyword for devices in the blacklist, you use the devnode keyword to
exclude some devices in the blacklist exceptions. It is not possible to blacklist devices by
using the devnode keyword and to exclude some of them by using the wwid keyword.
For more information and examples, see Section 17.8, “Blacklisting Non-Multipath Devices”.
multipaths
Specifies settings for individual multipath devices. Except for settings that do not support
individual settings, these values overwrite what is specified in the defaults and devices
sections of the configuration le.
devices
201 Sections in the /etc/multipath.conf File SLES 12 SP3

Specifies settings for individual storage controllers. These values overwrite values specified
in the defaults section of the configuration le. If you use a storage array that is not
supported by default, you can create a devices subsection to specify the default settings
for it. These values can be overwritten by settings for individual multipath devices if the
keyword allows it.
For information, see the following:
Section 17.9, “Configuring User-Friendly Names or Alias Names”
Section 17.14.6, “Configuring Default Settings for IBM z Systems Devices”
17.6.3 Verifying the Multipath Setup in the /etc/multipath.conf File

Whenever you create or modify the /etc/multipath.conf le, the changes are not automat-
ically applied when you save the le. You can perform a “dry run” of the setup to verify the
multipath setup before you update the multipath maps.
At the server command prompt, enter
sudo multipath -v2 -d
This command scans the devices, then displays what the setup would look like if you commit
the changes. It is assumed that the multipathd daemon is already running with the old (or
default) multipath settings when you modify the /etc/multipath.conf le and perform the
dry run. If the changes are acceptable, continue with the next step.
The output is similar to the following:
26353900f02796769
[size=127 GB]
[features="0"]
[hwhandler="1 emc"]
\_ round-robin 0 [first]
\_ 1:0:1:2 sdav 66:240 [ready ]
\_ 0:0:1:2 sdr 65:16 [ready ]
\_ round-robin 0
\_ 1:0:0:2 sdag 66:0 [ready ]
\_ 0:0:0:2 sdc 8:32 [ready ]
202 Verifying the Multipath Setup in the /etc/multipath.conf File SLES 12 SP3
Paths are grouped into priority groups. Only one priority group is in active use at a time. To
model an active/active configuration, all paths end in the same group. To model an active/pas-
sive configuration, the paths that should not be active in parallel are placed in several distinct
priority groups. This normally happens automatically on device discovery.
The output shows the order, the scheduling policy used to balance I/O within the group, and the
paths for each priority group. For each path, its physical address (host:bus:target:lun), device
node name, major:minor number, and state is shown.
By using a verbosity level of -v3 in the dry run, you can see all detected paths, multipaths, and
device maps. Both WWID and device node blacklisted devices are displayed.
The following is an example of -v3 output on a 64-bit SLES 11 SP2 server with two Qlogic
HBAs connected to a Xiotech Magnitude 3000 SAN. Some multiple entries have been omitted
to shorten the example.
tux > sudo multipath -v3 d

dm-22: device node name blacklisted
< content omitted >
loop7: device node name blacklisted
< content omitted >
md0: device node name blacklisted
< content omitted >
dm-0: device node name blacklisted
sdf: not found in pathvec
sdf: mask = 0x1f
sdf: dev_t = 8:80
sdf: size = 105005056
sdf: subsystem = scsi
sdf: vendor = XIOtech
sdf: product = Magnitude 3D
sdf: rev = 3.00
sdf: h:b:t:l = 1:0:0:2
sdf: tgt_node_name = 0x202100d0b2028da
sdf: serial = 000028DA0014
sdf: getuid= "/lib/udev/scsi_id --whitelisted --device=/dev/%n" (config file default)
sdf: uid = 200d0b2da28001400 (callout)
sdf: prio = const (config file default)
sdf: const prio = 1
[...]
ram15: device node name blacklisted
[...]
===== paths list =====
uuid hcil dev dev_t pri dm_st chk_st vend/prod/rev
200d0b2da28001400 1:0:0:2 sdf 8:80 1 [undef][undef] XIOtech,Magnitude 3D
200d0b2da28005400 1:0:0:1 sde 8:64 1 [undef][undef] XIOtech,Magnitude 3D
203 Verifying the Multipath Setup in the /etc/multipath.conf File SLES 12 SP3
200d0b2da28004d00 1:0:0:0 sdd 8:48 1 [undef][undef] XIOtech,Magnitude 3D
200d0b2da28001400 0:0:0:2 sdc 8:32 1 [undef][undef] XIOtech,Magnitude 3D
200d0b2da28005400 0:0:0:1 sdb 8:16 1 [undef][undef] XIOtech,Magnitude 3D
200d0b2da28004d00 0:0:0:0 sda 8:0 1 [undef][undef] XIOtech,Magnitude 3D
params = 0 0 2 1 round-robin 0 1 1 8:80 1000 round-robin 0 1 1 8:32 1000
status = 2 0 0 0 2 1 A 0 1 0 8:80 A 0 E 0 1 0 8:32 A 0
sdf: mask = 0x4
sdf: path checker = directio (config file default)
directio: starting new request
directio: async io getevents returns 1 (errno=Success)
directio: io finished 4096/0
sdf: state = 2
[...]
17.6.4 Applying the /etc/multipath.conf File Changes to Update the

Multipath Maps
Changes to the /etc/multipath.conf le cannot take effect when multipathd is running.
After you make changes, save and close the le, then do the following to apply the changes and
update the multipath maps:
1. Stop the multipathd service:
sudo systemctl stop multipathd
2. Clear old multipath bindings by entering
sudo /sbin/multipath -F
3. Create new multipath bindings by entering
sudo /sbin/multipath -v2 -l
4. Restart the multipathd service:
sudo systemctl start multipathd
5. Run dracut -f to re-create the initrd image on your system, then reboot for the
changes to take effect.
204 Applying the /etc/multipath.conf File Changes to Update the Multipath Maps SLES 12 SP3
17.6.5 Generating a WWID
To identify a device over different paths, multipath uses a World Wide Identification (WWID)
for each device. If the WWID is the same for two device paths, they are assumed to represent
the same device. We recommend not changing the method of WWID generation, unless there is
a compelling reason to do so. For more details, see man multipath.conf .
17.7 Configuring Default Policies for Polling, Queuing,

and Failback
The goal of multipath I/O is to provide connectivity fault tolerance between the storage system
and the server. The desired default behavior depends on whether the server is a stand-alone
server or a node in a high-availability cluster.
When you configure multipath I/O for a stand-alone server, the no_path_retry setting protects
the server operating system from receiving I/O errors as long as possible. It queues messages
until a multipath failover occurs and provides a healthy connection.
When you configure multipath I/O for a node in a high-availability cluster, you want multipath
to report the I/O failure to trigger the resource failover instead of waiting for a multipath failover
to be resolved. In cluster environments, you must modify the no_path_retry setting so that the
cluster node receives an I/O error in relation to the cluster verification process (recommended
to be 50% of the heartbeat tolerance) if the connection is lost to the storage system. In addition,
you want the multipath I/O fallback to be set to manual to avoid a ping-pong of resources
because of path failures.
The /etc/multipath.conf le should contain a defaults section where you can specify
default behaviors for polling, queuing, and failback. If the eld is not otherwise specified in a
device section, the default setting is applied for that SAN configuration.
The following are the compiled default settings. They will be used unless you overwrite these
values by creating and configuring a personalized /etc/multipath.conf le.
defaults {
verbosity 2
# udev_dir is deprecated in SLES 11 SP3
# udev_dir /dev
polling_interval 5
# path_selector default value is service-time in SLES 11 SP3
# path_selector "round-robin 0"
path selector "service-time 0"
205 Generating a WWID SLES 12 SP3

path_grouping_policy failover
# getuid_callout is deprecated in SLES 11 SP3 and replaced with uid_attribute
# getuid_callout "/lib/udev/scsi_id --whitelisted --device=/dev/%n"
# uid_attribute is new in SLES 11 SP3
uid_attribute "ID_SERIAL"
prio "const"
prio_args ""
features "0"
path_checker "tur"
alias_prefix "mpath"
rr_min_io_rq 1
max_fds "max"
rr_weight "uniform"
queue_without_daemon "yes"
flush_on_last_del "no"
user_friendly_names "no"
fast_io_fail_tmo 5
bindings_file "/etc/multipath/bindings"
wwids_file "/etc/multipath/wwids"
log_checker_err "always"
retain_attached_hw_handler "no"
detect_prio "no"
failback "manual"
no_path_retry "fail"
}
For information about setting the polling, queuing, and failback policies, see the following pa-
rameters in Section 17.10, “Configuring Path Failover Policies and Priorities”:
polling_interval
no_path_retry
failback
After you have modified the /etc/multipath.conf le, you must run dracut -f to re-cre-
ate the initrd on your system, then restart the server for the changes to take effect. See Sec-
tion 17.6.4, “Applying the /etc/multipath.conf File Changes to Update the Multipath Maps” for details.
206 Configuring Default Policies for Polling, Queuing, and Failback SLES 12 SP3
17.8 Blacklisting Non-Multipath Devices
The /etc/multipath.conf le can contain a blacklist section where all non-multipath de-
vices are listed. You can blacklist devices by WWID ( wwid keyword), device name ( devnode
keyword), or device type ( device section). You can also use the blacklist_exceptions sec-
tion to enable multipath for some devices that are blacklisted by the regular expressions used
in the blacklist section.
Note: Preferred Blacklisting Methods

The preferred method for blacklisting devices is by WWID or by vendor and product. Black-
listing by devnode is not recommended, because device nodes can change and thus are
not useful for persistent device identification.
Warning: Regular Expressions in multipath.conf

Regular expressions in the /etc/multipath.conf do not work in general. They only
work if they are matched against common strings. However, the standard configuration of
multipath already contains regular expressions for many devices and vendors. Matching
regular expressions with other regular expressions does not work. Make sure that you are
only matching against strings shown with multipath -t .
You can typically ignore non-multipathed devices, such as hpsa , fd , hd , md , dm , sr , scd ,

st , ram , raw , and loop . For example, local SATA hard disks and ash disks do not have
multiple paths. If you want multipath to ignore single-path devices, put them in the black-
list section.
Note: Compatibility
The keyword devnode_blacklist has been deprecated and replaced with the keyword
blacklist .
With SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 the glibc-provided regular expressions are used.
To match an arbitrary string, you must now use ".*" rather than "*" .
207 Blacklisting Non-Multipath Devices SLES 12 SP3

For example, to blacklist local devices and all arrays from the hpsa driver from being managed
by multipath, the blacklist section looks like this:
blacklist {
wwid "26353900f02796769"
devnode "^(ram|raw|loop|fd|md|dm-|sr|scd|st)[0-9]*"
devnode "^sd[a-z][0-9]*"
}
You can also blacklist only the partitions from a driver instead of the entire array. For example,
you can use the following regular expression to blacklist only partitions from the cciss driver
and not the entire array:
blacklist {
devnode "^cciss!c[0-9]d[0-9]*[p[0-9]*]"
}
You can blacklist by specific device types by adding a device section in the blacklist, and using
the vendor and product keywords.
blacklist {
device {
vendor "DELL"
product ".*"
}
}
You can use a blacklist_exceptions section to enable multipath for some devices that were
blacklisted by the regular expressions used in the blacklist section. You add exceptions by
WWID ( wwid keyword), device name ( devnode keyword), or device type ( device section).
You must specify the exceptions in the same way that you blacklisted the corresponding devices.
That is, wwid exceptions apply to a wwid blacklist, devnode exceptions apply to a devnode
blacklist, and device type exceptions apply to a device type blacklist.
For example, you can enable multipath for a desired device type when you have different de-
vice types from the same vendor. Blacklist all of the vendor’s device types in the blacklist
section, and then enable multipath for the desired device type by adding a device section in
a blacklist_exceptions section.
blacklist {
devnode "^(ram|raw|loop|fd|md|dm-|sr|scd|st|sda)[0-9]*"
device {
vendor "DELL"
product ".*"
}

}
blacklist_exceptions {
device {
vendor "DELL"
product "MD3220i"
}
}
You can also use the blacklist_exceptions to enable multipath only for specific devices. For ex-
ample:
blacklist {
wwid ".*"
}
blacklist_exceptions {
wwid "3600d0230000000000e13955cc3751234"
wwid "3600d0230000000000e13955cc3751235"
}
After you have modified the /etc/multipath.conf le, you must run dracut -f to re-cre-
ate the initrd on your system, then restart the server for the changes to take effect. See Sec-
tion 17.6.4, “Applying the /etc/multipath.conf File Changes to Update the Multipath Maps” for details.
Following the reboot, the local devices should no longer be listed in the multipath maps when
you issue the multipath -ll command.
Note: Using the find_multipaths Option

Starting with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2, the multipath tools support the option
find_multipaths in the defaults section of /etc/multipath.conf . Simply put, this
option prevents multipath and multipathd from setting up multipath maps for devices
with only a single path (see the man 5 multipath.conf for details). In certain configu-
rations, this may save the administrator from the effort of creating blacklist entries, for
example for local SATA disks.
Convenient as it seems at rst, using the find_multipaths option also has disadvan-
tages. It complicates and slows down the system boot, because for every device found, the
boot logic needs to wait until all devices have been discovered to see whether a second
path exists for the device. Additionally, problems can arise when some paths are down or
otherwise invisible at boot time—a device can be falsely detected as a single-path device
and activated, causing later addition of more paths to fail.

find_multipaths considers all devices that are listed in /etc/multipath/wwids with
matching WWIDs as being multipath devices. This is important when find_multipaths
is rst activated: Unless /etc/multipath/wwids is deleted or edited, activating this
option has no effect, because all previously existing multipath maps (including single-path
ones) are listed in the wwids le. On SAN-boot systems with a multipathed root le
system, make sure to keep /etc/multipath/wwids synchronized between the initial
RAM disk and the le system.
In Summary, using find_multipaths may be convenient in certain use cases, but SUSE
still recommends the default configuration with a properly configured blacklist and black-
list exceptions.
17.9 Configuring User-Friendly Names or Alias

Names
A multipath device can be identified by its WWID, by a user-friendly name, or by an alias that
you assign for it. Device node names in the form of /dev/sdn and /dev/dm-n can change on
reboot and might be assigned to different devices each time. A device’s WWID, user-friendly
name, and alias name persist across reboots, and are the preferred way to identify the device.
Important: Using Persistent Names is

Recommended
Because device node names in the form of /dev/sdn and /dev/dm-n can change on
reboot, referring to multipath devices by their WWID is preferred. You can also use a
user-friendly name or alias that is mapped to the WWID to identify the device uniquely
across reboots.
The following table describes the types of device names that can be used for a device in the /
etc/multipath.conf le. For an example of multipath.conf settings, see the /usr/share/
doc/packages/multipath-tools/multipath.conf.synthetic le.
210 Configuring User-Friendly Names or Alias Names SLES 12 SP3

TABLE 17.4: COMPARISON OF MULTIPATH DEVICE NAME TYPES
Name Types Description
WWID (de- The serial WWID (Worldwide Identifier) is an identifier for the multipath
fault) device that is guaranteed to be globally unique and unchanging. The de-
fault name used in multipathing is the ID of the logical unit as found in
the /dev/disk/by-id directory. For example, a device with the WWID of
3600508e0000000009e6baa6f609e7908 is listed as /dev/disk/by-id/
scsi-3600508e0000000009e6baa6f609e7908 .
User-friendly The Device Mapper Multipath device names in the /dev/mapper directory
also reference the ID of the logical unit. These multipath device names are
user-friendly names in the form of /dev/mapper/mpathN , such as /dev/
mapper/mpath0 . The names are unique and persistent because they use the
/var/lib/multipath/bindings le to track the association between the
UUID and user-friendly names.
Alias An alias name is a globally unique name that the administrator provides
for a multipath device. Alias names override the WWID and the user-
friendly /dev/mapper/mpathN names.
If you are using user_friendly_names, do not set the alias to mpath N for-
mat. This may conflict with an automatically assigned user-friendly name,
and give you incorrect device node names.
The global multipath user_friendly_names option in the /etc/multipath.conf le is used

to enable or disable the use of user-friendly names for multipath devices. If it is set to no (the
default), multipath uses the WWID as the name of the device. If it is set to yes , multipath uses
the /var/lib/multipath/bindings le to assign a persistent and unique name to the device
in the form of mpath<N> in the /dev/mapper directory. The bindings file option in the /
etc/multipath.conf le can be used to specify an alternate location for the bindings le.
The global multipath alias option in the /etc/multipath.conf le is used to explicitly assign
a name to the device. If an alias name is set up for a multipath device, the alias is used instead
of the WWID or the user-friendly name.
Using the user_friendly_names option can be problematic in the following situations:
Root Device Is Using Multipath:

If the system root device is using multipath and you use the user_friendly_names option,
the user-friendly settings in the /var/lib/multipath/bindings le are included in the
initrd . If you later change the storage setup, such as by adding or removing devices,
there is a mismatch between the bindings setting inside the initrd and the bindings
settings in /var/lib/multipath/bindings .
Warning: Binding Mismatches

A bindings mismatch between initrd and /var/lib/multipath/bindings can
lead to a wrong assignment of mount points to devices, which can result in le
system corruption and data loss.
To avoid this problem, we recommend that you use the default WWID settings for the
system root device. You should not use aliases for the system root device. Because the
device name would differ, using an alias causes you to lose the ability to seamlessly switch
o multipathing via the kernel command line.
Mounting /var from Another Partition:

The default location of the user_friendly_names configuration le is /var/lib/mul-
tipath/bindings . If the /var data is not located on the system root device but mounted
from another partition, the bindings le is not available when setting up multipathing.
Make sure that the /var/lib/multipath/bindings le is available on the system root
device and multipath can nd it. For example, this can be done as follows:
1. Move the /var/lib/multipath/bindings le to /etc/multipath/bindings .
2. Set the bindings_file option in the defaults section of / etc/multipath.conf

to this new location. For example:
defaults {
user_friendly_names yes
}
Multipath Is in the initrd:

Even if the system root device is not on multipath, it is possible for multipath to be included
in the initrd . For example, this can happen if the system root device is on LVM. If you
use the user_friendly_names option and multipath is in the initrd , you should boot
with the parameter multipath=off to avoid problems.

This disables multipath only in the initrd during system boots. After the system boots,
the boot.multipath and multipathd boot scripts can activate multipathing.
Multipathing in HA Clusters:
See Section 17.9.1, “Multipath Device Names in HA Clusters” for details.
To enable user-friendly names or to specify aliases:
1. Open the /etc/multipath.conf le in a text editor with root privileges.
2. (Optional) Modify the location of the /var/lib/multipath/bindings le.

The alternate path must be available on the system root device where multipath can nd it.
a. Move the /var/lib/multipath/bindings le to /etc/multipath/bindings .
b. Set the bindings_file option in the defaults section of / etc/multipath.conf

to this new location. For example:
defaults {
}
3. (Optional, not recommended) Enable user-friendly names:
a. Uncomment the defaults section and its ending bracket.
b. Uncomment the user_friendly_names option , then change its value from No to

Yes.
For example:
## Use user-friendly names, instead of using WWIDs as names.

defaults {
}
4. (Optional) Specify your own names for devices by using the alias option in the multi-
path section.
For example:
## Use alias names, instead of using WWIDs as names.

multipaths {
multipath {

wwid 36006048000028350131253594d303030
alias blue1
}
multipath {
wwid 36006048000028350131253594d303041
alias blue2
}
multipath {
wwid 36006048000028350131253594d303145
alias yellow1
}
multipath {
wwid 36006048000028350131253594d303334
alias yellow2
}
}
Important: WWWID Compared to WWN

When you define device aliases in the /etc/multipath.conf le, ensure that you
use each device’s WWID (such as 3600508e0000000009e6baa6f609e7908 ) and
not its WWN, which replaces the rst character of a device ID with 0x , such as
0x600508e0000000009e6baa6f609e7908 .
5. Save your changes, then close the le.
6. After you have modified the /etc/multipath.conf le, you must run dracut -f to re-
create the initrd on your system, then restart the server for the changes to take effect.
See Section 17.6.4, “Applying the /etc/multipath.conf File Changes to Update the Multipath Maps”
for details.
To use the entire LUN directly (for example, if you are using the SAN features to partition your
storage), you can use the /dev/disk/by-id/xxx names for mkfs , fstab , your application,
and so on. Partitioned devices have _part<n> appended to the device name, such as /dev/
disk/by-id/xxx_part1 .
In the /dev/disk/by-id directory, the multipath-mapped devices are represented by the de-
vice’s dm-uuid* name or alias name (if you assign an alias for it in the /etc/multipath.conf
le). The scsi- and wwn- device names represent physical paths to the devices.

17.9.1 Multipath Device Names in HA Clusters
Make sure that multipath devices have the same name across all devices by doing the following:
Use UUID and alias names to ensure that multipath device names are consistent across
all nodes in the cluster. Alias names must be unique across all nodes. Copy the /etc/
multipath.conf le from the node to the /etc/ directory for all of the other nodes in
the cluster.
When using links to multipath-mapped devices, ensure that you specify the dm-uuid*
name or alias name in the /dev/disk/by-id directory, and not a xed path instance of
the device. For information, see Section 17.9, “Configuring User-Friendly Names or Alias Names”.
Set the user_friendly_names configuration option to no to disable it. A user-friendly

name is unique to a node, but a device might not be assigned the same user-friendly name
on every node in the cluster.
Note: User-Friendly Names

If you really need to use user-friendly names, you can force the system-defined user-
friendly names to be consistent across all nodes in the cluster by doing the following:
1. In the /etc/multipath.conf le on one node:
1. Set the user_friendly_names configuration option to yes to enable it.

Multipath uses the /var/lib/multipath/bindings le to assign a persistent
and unique name to the device in the form of mpath<N> in the /dev/mapper
directory.
2. (Optional) Set the bindings_file option in the defaults section of the /

etc/multipath.conf le to specify an alternate location for the bindings
le.
The default location is /var/lib/multipath/bindings .
2. Set up all of the multipath devices on the node.
3. Copy the /etc/multipath.conf le from the node to the /etc/ directory of all
the other nodes in the cluster.
4. Copy the bindings le from the node to the bindings_file path on all of the
other nodes in the cluster.
215 Multipath Device Names in HA Clusters SLES 12 SP3

5. After you have modified the /etc/multipath.conf le, you must run dracut -
f to re-create the initrd on your system, then restart the node for the changes to
take effect. See Section 17.6.4, “Applying the /etc/multipath.conf File Changes to Update
the Multipath Maps” for details. This applies to all affected nodes.
17.10 Configuring Path Failover Policies and Priorities

In a Linux host, when there are multiple paths to a storage controller, each path appears as a
separate block device, and results in multiple block devices for single LUN. The Device Mapper
Multipath service detects multiple paths with the same LUN ID, and creates a new multipath
device with that ID. For example, a host with two HBAs attached to a storage controller with
two ports via a single unzoned Fibre Channel switch sees four block devices: /dev/sda , /dev/
sdb , /dev/sdc , and /dev/sdd . The Device Mapper Multipath service creates a single block
device, /dev/mpath/mpath1 , that reroutes I/O through those four underlying block devices.
This section describes how to specify policies for failover and configure priorities for the paths.
Note that after you have modified the /etc/multipath.conf le, you must run dracut -f to
re-create the initrd on your system, then restart the server for the changes to take effect. See
Section 17.6.4, “Applying the /etc/multipath.conf File Changes to Update the Multipath Maps” for details.
17.10.1 Configuring the Path Failover Policies

Use the multipath command with the -p option to set the path failover policy:
sudo multipath DEVICENAME -p POLICY
Replace POLICY with one of the following policy options:
TABLE 17.5: GROUP POLICY OPTIONS FOR THE MULTIPATH -P COMMAND
failover (Default) One path per priority group.
multibus All paths in one priority group.
216 Configuring Path Failover Policies and Priorities SLES 12 SP3

group_by_serial One priority group per detected serial number.
group_by_prio One priority group per path priority value. Priorities are determined
by callout programs specified as a global, per-controller, or per-mul-
tipath option in the /etc/multipath.conf configuration le.
group_by_n- One priority group per target node name. Target node names are
ode_name fetched in the /sys/class/fc_transport/target*/node_name lo-
cation.
17.10.2 Configuring Failover Priorities

You must manually enter the failover priorities for the device in the /etc/multipath.conf le.
Examples for all settings and options can be found in the /usr/share/doc/packages/multi-
path-tools/multipath.conf.annotated le.
17.10.2.1 Understanding Priority Groups and Attributes
A priority group is a collection of paths that go to the same physical LUN. By default, I/O is dis-
tributed in a round-robin fashion across all paths in the group. The multipath command auto-
matically creates priority groups for each LUN in the SAN based on the path_grouping_policy
setting for that SAN. The multipath command multiplies the number of paths in a group by the
group’s priority to determine which group is the primary. The group with the highest calculated
value is the primary. When all paths in the primary group are failed, the priority group with
the next highest value becomes active.
A path priority is an integer value assigned to a path. The higher the value, the higher the priority.
An external program is used to assign priorities for each path. For a given device, the paths with
the same priorities belong to the same priority group.
The prio setting is used in the defaults{} or devices{} section of the /etc/multi-
path.conf le. It is silently ignored when it is specified for an individual multipath definition
in the multipaths{) section. The prio line specifies the prioritizer. If the prioritizer requires
an argument, you specify the argument by using the prio_args keyword on a second line.
217 Configuring Failover Priorities SLES 12 SP3

PRIO Settings for the Defaults or Devices Sections
prio
Specifies the prioritizer program to call to obtain a path priority value. Weights are
summed for each path group to determine the next path group to use in case of failure.
Use the prio_args keyword to specify arguments if the specified prioritizer requires ar-
guments.
If no prio keyword is specified, all paths are equal. The default setting is const with a
prio_args setting with no value.
prio "const"
prio_args ""
Example prioritizer programs include:
Prioritizer Program Description
alua Generates path priorities based on the SCSI-3 ALUA settings.
const Generates the same priority for all paths.
emc Generates the path priority for EMC arrays.
hdc Generates the path priority for Hitachi HDS Modular storage
arrays.
hp_sw Generates the path priority for Compaq/HP controller in ac-

tive/standby mode.
ontap Generates the path priority for NetApp arrays.
random Generates a random priority for each path.
rdac Generates the path priority for LSI/Engenio RDAC controller.
weightedpath Generates the path priority based on the weighted values

you specify in the arguments for prio_args , such as:
[hbtl|devname] REGEX1 PRIO1 REGEX2 PRIO2...

Prioritizer Program Description
The hbtl regex argument format uses the SCSI H:B:T:L

notation (such as 1:0:.:. and *:0:0:. ) with a weight val-
ue, where H, B, T, L are the host, bus, target, and LUN IDs
for a device. For example:
prio "weightedpath"
prio_args "hbtl 1:.:.:. 2 4:.:.:. 4"
The devname regular expression argument format uses a de-

vice node name with a weight value for each device. For ex-
ample:
prio "weightedpath"
prio_args "devname sda 50 sde 10 sdc 50 sdf 10"
prio_args
Specifies the arguments for the specified prioritizer program that requires arguments. Most
prio programs do not need arguments.
There is no default. The value depends on the prio setting and whether the prioritizer
requires arguments.
Multipath Attributes
Multipath attributes are used to control the behavior of multipath I/O for devices. You can
specify attributes as defaults for all multipath devices. You can also specify attributes that apply
only to a given multipath device by creating an entry for that device in the multipaths section
of the multipath configuration le.
user_friendly_names
Specifies whether to use world-wide IDs (WWIDs) or to use the /var/lib/multi-
path/bindings le to assign a persistent and unique alias to the multipath devices in the
form of /dev/mapper/mpathN .
This option can be used in the devices section and the multipaths section.

Value Description
no (Default) Use the WWIDs shown in the /dev/disk/by-id/ lo-

cation.
yes Autogenerate user-friendly names as aliases for the multipath

devices instead of the actual ID.
failback
Specifies whether to monitor the failed path recovery, and indicates the timing for group
failback after failed paths return to service.
When the failed path recovers, the path is added back into the multipath-enabled path
list based on this setting. Multipath evaluates the priority groups, and changes the active
priority group when the priority of the primary path exceeds the secondary group.
Value Description
manual (Default) The failed path is not monitored for recovery. The ad-
ministrator runs the multipath command to update enabled
paths and priority groups.
followover Only perform automatic failback when the rst path of a path-
group becomes active. This keeps a node from automatically
failing back when another node requested the failover.
immediate When a path recovers, enable the path immediately.
N When the path recovers, wait N seconds before enabling the

path. Specify an integer value greater than 0.
We recommend failback setting of manual for multipath in cluster environments to pre-

vent multipath failover ping-pong.
failback "manual"
Important: Verification
Make sure that you verify the failback setting with your storage system vendor.
Different storage systems can require different settings.

no_path_retry
Specifies the behaviors to use on path failure.
Value Description
N Specifies the number of retries until multipath stops the

queuing and fails the path. Specify an integer value greater
than 0.
In a cluster, you can specify a value of “0” to prevent queuing
and allow resources to fail over.
fail Specifies immediate failure (no queuing).
queue Never stop queuing (queue forever until the path comes alive).
We recommend a retry setting of fail or 0 in the /etc/multipath.conf le when

working in a cluster. This causes the resources to fail over when the connection is lost to
storage. Otherwise, the messages queue and the resource failover cannot occur.
no_path_retry "fail"
no_path_retry "0"
Important: Verification
Make sure that you verify the retry settings with your storage system vendor. Dif-
ferent storage systems can require different settings.
path_checker
Determines the state of the path.
Value Description
directio Reads the rst sector that has direct I/O.

This is useful for DASD devices. Logs fail-
ure messages in the systemd journal (see
Book “Administration Guide”, Chapter 15
“journalctl: Query the systemd Journal”).

Value Description
tur Issues an SCSI test unit ready command to

the device. This is the preferred setting if
the LUN supports it. On failure, the com-
mand does not ll up the systemd log
journal with messages.
CUSTOM_VENDOR_VALUE Some SAN vendors provide custom

path_checker options:
cciss_tur : Checks the path state

for HP Smart Storage Arrays.
emc_clariion : Queries the EMC

Clariion EVPD page 0xC0 to deter-
mine the path state.
hp_sw : Checks the path state (Up,

Down, or Ghost) for HP storage ar-
rays with Active/Standby rmware.
rdac : Checks the path state for

the LSI/Engenio RDAC storage con-
troller.
path_grouping_policy
Specifies the path grouping policy for a multipath device hosted by a given controller.
Value Description
failover (Default) One path is assigned per priority group so that only
one path at a time is used.
multibus All valid paths are in one priority group. Traffic is load-bal-
anced across all active paths in the group.

Value Description
group_by_prio One priority group exists for each path priority value. Paths
with the same priority are in the same priority group. Priorities
are assigned by an external program.
group_by_serial Paths are grouped by the SCSI target serial number (controller
node WWN).
group_by_n- One priority group is assigned per target node name. Target
ode_name node names are fetched in /sys/class/fc_transport/tar-
get*/node_name .
path_selector
Specifies the path-selector algorithm to use for load balancing.
Value Description
round-robin 0 The load-balancing algorithm used to balance traffic across all

active paths in a priority group.
queue-length 0 A dynamic load balancer that balances the number of in-ight

I/O on paths similar to the least-pending option.
service-time 0 (Default) A service-time oriented load balancer that balances I/

O on paths according to the latency.
pg_timeout
Specifies path group timeout handling. No value can be specified; an internal default is set.
polling_interval
Specifies the time in seconds between the end of one path checking cycle and the beginning
of the next path checking cycle.
Specify an integer value greater than 0. The default value is 5. Make sure that you verify
the polling_interval setting with your storage system vendor. Different storage systems can
require different settings.
rr_min_io_rq
Specifies the number of I/O requests to route to a path before switching to the next path
in the current path group, using request-based device-mapper-multipath.

Specify an integer value greater than 0. The default value is 1.
rr_min_io_rq "1"
rr_weight
Specifies the weighting method to use for paths.
Value Description
uniform (Default) All paths have the same round-robin weights.
priorities Each path’s weight is determined by the path’s priority times

the rr_min_io_rq setting.
uid_attribute
A udev attribute that provides a unique path identifier. The default value is ID_SERIAL .
17.10.2.2 Configuring for Round-Robin Load Balancing

All paths are active. I/O is configured for some number of seconds or some number of I/O
transactions before moving to the next open path in the sequence.
17.10.2.3 Configuring for Single Path Failover

A single path with the highest priority (lowest value setting) is active for traffic. Other paths are
available for failover, but are not used unless failover occurs.
17.10.2.4 Grouping I/O Paths for Round-Robin Load Balancing

Multiple paths with the same priority fall into the active group. When all paths in that group
fail, the device fails over to the next highest priority group. All paths in the group share the
traffic load in a round-robin load balancing fashion.
17.10.3 Reporting Target Path Groups

Use the SCSI Report Target Port Groups ( sg_rtpg(8) ) command. For information, see the man
page for sg_rtpg(8) .
224 Reporting Target Path Groups SLES 12 SP3

17.11 Configuring Multipath I/O for the Root Device
Device Mapper Multipath I/O (DM-MPIO) is available and supported for /boot and /root in
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. In addition, the YaST partitioner in the YaST installer supports
enabling multipath during the install.
17.11.1 Enabling Multipath I/O at Install Time

To install the operating system on a multipath device, the multipath software must be running at
install time. The multipathd daemon is not automatically active during the system installation.
You can start it by using the Configure Multipath option in the YaST Partitioner.
17.11.1.1 Enabling Multipath I/O at Install Time on an Active/Active

Multipath Storage LUN
1. Choose Expert Partitioner on the Suggested Partitioning screen during the installation.
2. Select the Hard Disks main icon, click the Configure button, then select Configure Multipath.
3. Start multipath.
YaST starts to rescan the disks and shows available multipath devices (such as /dev/disk/
by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-3600a0b80000f4593000012ae4ab0ae65 ). This is the device that
should be used for all further processing.
4. Click Next to continue with the installation.
17.11.1.2 Enabling Multipath I/O at Install Time on an Active/Passive

Multipath Storage LUN
The multipathd daemon is not automatically active during the system installation. You can
start it by using the Configure Multipath option in the YaST Partitioner.
To enable multipath I/O at install time for an active/passive multipath storage LUN:
1. Choose Expert Partitioner on the Suggested Partitioning screen during the installation.
2. Select the Hard Disks main icon, click the Configure button, then select Configure Multipath.
225 Configuring Multipath I/O for the Root Device SLES 12 SP3
3. Start multipath.
YaST starts to rescan the disks and shows available multipath devices (such as /dev/disk/
by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-3600a0b80000f4593000012ae4ab0ae65 ). This is the device that
should be used for all further processing. Write down the device path and UUID; you will
need it later.
4. Click Next to continue with the installation.
5. After all settings are done and the installation is finished, YaST starts to write the boot
loader information, and displays a countdown to restart the system. Stop the counter by
clicking the Stop button and press Ctrl – Alt – F5 to access a console.
6. Use the console to determine if a passive path was entered in the /boot/grub2/de-
vice.map le for the hd0 entry.
This is necessary because the installation does not distinguish between active and passive
paths.
a. Mount the root device to /mnt by entering
mount /dev/disk/by-id/UUID;_part2 /mnt
For example, enter
mount /dev/disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-3600a0b80000f4593000012ae4ab0ae65_part2 /
mnt
b. Mount the boot device to /mnt/boot by entering
mount /dev/disk/by-id/UUID_part1 /mnt/boot
For example, enter
mount /dev/disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-3600a0b80000f4593000012ae4ab0ae65_part2 /
mnt/boot
226 Enabling Multipath I/O at Install Time SLES 12 SP3

c. In the /mnt/boot/grub2/device.map le, determine if the hd0 entry points to a
passive path, then do one of the following:
Active path: No action is needed. Skip all remaining steps and return to the
YaST graphical environment by pressing Ctrl – Alt – F7 and continue with the
installation.
Passive path: The configuration must be changed and the boot loader must
be reinstalled.
7. If the hd0 entry points to a passive path, change the configuration and reinstall the boot
loader:
a. Enter the following commands at the console prompt:
mount -o bind /dev /mnt/dev

mount -o bind /sys /mnt/sys
mount -o bind /proc /mnt/proc
chroot /mnt
b. At the console, run multipath -ll , then check the output to nd the active path.
Passive paths are agged as ghost .
c. In the /boot/grub2/device.map le, change the hd0 entry to an active path, save
the changes, and close the le.
d. Reinstall the boot loader by entering
grub-install /dev/disk/by-id/UUID_part1 /mnt/boot
For example, enter
grub-install /dev/disk/by-id/dm-uuid-
mpath-3600a0b80000f4593000012ae4ab0ae65_part2 /mnt/boot
e. Enter the following commands:
exit
umount /mnt/*
umount /mnt
8. Return to the YaST graphical environment by pressing Ctrl – Alt – F7 .
227 Enabling Multipath I/O at Install Time SLES 12 SP3

9. Click OK to continue with the installation reboot.
17.11.2 Enabling Multipath I/O for an Existing Root Device

1. Install Linux with only a single path active, preferably one where the by-id symbolic
links are listed in the partitioner.
2. Mount the devices by using the /dev/disk/by-id path used during the install.
3. Add dm-multipath to /etc/dracut.conf.d/01-dist.conf by adding the following line:
force_drivers+="dm-multipath"
4. For IBM z Systems, before running dracut , edit the /etc/zipl.conf le to change the
by-path information in zipl.conf with the same by-id information that was used in /
etc/fstab .
5. Run dracut -f to update the initrd image.
6. For IBM z Systems, after running dracut , run zipl .
7. Reboot the server.
17.11.3 Disabling Multipath I/O on the Root Device

Add multipath=off to the kernel command line. This can be done with the YaST Boot Loader
module. Open Boot Loader Installation Kernel Parameters and add the parameter to both com-
mand lines.
This affects only the root device. All other devices are not affected.
17.12 Configuring Multipath I/O for an Existing

Software RAID
Ideally, you should configure multipathing for devices before you use them as components of
a software RAID device. If you add multipathing after creating any software RAID devices,
the DM-MPIO service might be starting after the multipath service on reboot, which makes
multipathing appear not to be available for RAIDs. You can use the procedure in this section to
get multipathing running for a previously existing software RAID.
228 Enabling Multipath I/O for an Existing Root Device SLES 12 SP3
For example, you might need to configure multipathing for devices in a software RAID under
the following circumstances:
If you create a new software RAID as part of the Partitioning settings during a new install
or upgrade.
If you did not configure the devices for multipathing before using them in the software
RAID as a member device or spare.
If you grow your system by adding new HBA adapters to the server or expanding the
storage subsystem in your SAN.
Note: Assumptions
The following instructions assume the software RAID device is /dev/mapper/mpath0 ,
which is its device name as recognized by the kernel. It assumes you have enabled user-
friendly names in the /etc/multipath.conf le as described in Section 17.9, “Configuring
User-Friendly Names or Alias Names”.
Make sure to modify the instructions for the device name of your software RAID.

Except where otherwise directed, use this console to enter the commands in the following
steps.
2. If any software RAID devices are currently mounted or running, enter the following com-
mands for each device to unmount the device and stop it.
sudo umount /dev/mapper/mpath0

sudo mdadm --misc --stop /dev/mapper/mpath0
3. Stop the md service by entering
sudo systemctl stop mdmonitor
4. Start the multipathd daemon by entering the following command:
systemctl start multipathd
229 Configuring Multipath I/O for an Existing Software RAID SLES 12 SP3
5. After the multipathing service has been started, verify that the software RAID’s component
devices are listed in the /dev/disk/by-id directory. Do one of the following:
Devices Are Listed: The device names should now have symbolic links to their Device
Mapper Multipath device names, such as /dev/dm-1 .
Devices Are Not Listed: Force the multipath service to recognize them by flushing
and rediscovering the devices by entering
sudo multipath -F
sudo multipath -v0
The devices should now be listed in /dev/disk/by-id , and have symbolic links to
their Device Mapper Multipath device names. For example:
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 10 2011-01-06 11:42 dm-uuid-

mpath-36006016088d014007e0d0d2213ecdf11 -> ../../dm-1
6. Restart the mdmonitor service and the RAID device by entering
systemctl start mdmonitor
7. Check the status of the software RAID by entering
mdadm --detail /dev/mapper/mpath0
The RAID’s component devices should match their Device Mapper Multipath device names
that are listed as the symbolic links of devices in the /dev/disk/by-id directory.
8. In case the root ( / ) device or any parts of it (such as /var , /etc , /log ) are on the SAN
and multipath is needed to boot, rebuild the initrd :
dracut -f --add-multipath
9. Reboot the server to apply the changes.
10. Verify that the software RAID array comes up properly on top of the multipathed devices
by checking the RAID status. Enter
mdadm --detail /dev/mapper/mpath0
230 Configuring Multipath I/O for an Existing Software RAID SLES 12 SP3
For example:
Number Major Minor RaidDevice State

0 253 0 0 active sync /dev/dm-0
Note: Using mdadm with Multipath Devices

The mdadm tool requires that the devices be accessed by the ID rather than by the device
node path. Refer to Section 17.4.3, “Using MDADM for Multipathed Devices” for details.
17.13 Using LVM2 on Multipath Devices

When using multipath, all paths to a resource are present as devices in the device tree. By default
LVM checks if there is a multipath device on top of any device in the device tree. If LVM nds
a multipath device on top, it assumes that the device is a multipath component and ignores the
(underlying) device. This is the most likely desired behavior, but it can be changed in /etc/
lvm/lvm.conf . When multipath_component_detection is set to 0, LVM is scanning multipath
component devices. The default entry in lvm.conf is:
# By default, LVM2 will ignore devices used as component paths

# of device-mapper multipath devices.
# 1 enables; 0 disables.
multipath_component_detection = 1
231 Using LVM2 on Multipath Devices SLES 12 SP3

17.14 Best Practice
17.14.1 Scanning for New Devices without Rebooting

If your system has already been configured for multipathing and you later need to add more
storage to the SAN, you can use the rescan-scsi-bus.sh script to scan for the new devices. By
default, this script scans all HBAs with typical LUN ranges. The general syntax for the command
looks like the following:
rescan-scsi-bus.sh [options] [host [host ...]]
For most storage subsystems, the script can be run successfully without options. However, some
special cases might need to use one or more options. Run rescan-scsi-bus.sh --help for
details.
Warning: EMC PowerPath Environments

In EMC PowerPath environments, do not use the rescan-scsi-bus.sh utility provided
with the operating system or the HBA vendor scripts for scanning the SCSI buses. To avoid
potential le system corruption, EMC requires that you follow the procedure provided in
the vendor documentation for EMC PowerPath for Linux.
Use the following procedure to scan the devices and make them available to multipathing with-
out rebooting the system.
1. On the storage subsystem, use the vendor’s tools to allocate the device and update its
access control settings to allow the Linux system access to the new storage. Refer to the
vendor’s documentation for details.
2. Scan all targets for a host to make its new device known to the middle layer of the Linux
kernel’s SCSI subsystem. At a terminal console prompt, enter
sudo rescan-scsi-bus.sh
Depending on your setup, you might need to run rescan-scsi-bus.sh with optional
parameters. Refer to rescan-scsi-bus.sh --help for details.
232 Best Practice SLES 12 SP3

3. Check for scanning progress in the systemd journal (see Book “Administration Guide”, Chap-
ter 15 “journalctl: Query the systemd Journal” for details). At a terminal console prompt,
enter
sudo journalctl -r
This command displays the last lines of the log. For example:
tux > sudo journalctl -r

Feb 14 01:03 kernel: SCSI device sde: 81920000
Feb 14 01:03 kernel: SCSI device sdf: 81920000
Feb 14 01:03 multipathd: sde: path checker registered
Feb 14 01:03 multipathd: sdf: path checker registered
Feb 14 01:03 multipathd: mpath4: event checker started
Feb 14 01:03 multipathd: mpath5: event checker started
Feb 14 01:03:multipathd: mpath4: remaining active paths: 1
Feb 14 01:03 multipathd: mpath5: remaining active paths: 1
[...]
4. Repeat the previous steps to add paths through other HBA adapters on the Linux system
that are connected to the new device.
5. Run the multipath command to recognize the devices for DM-MPIO configuration. At
a terminal console prompt, enter
sudo multipath
You can now configure the new device for multipathing.
17.14.2 Scanning for New Partitioned Devices without Rebooting

Use the example in this section to detect a newly added multipathed LUN without rebooting.
Warning: EMC PowerPath Environments

In EMC PowerPath environments, do not use the rescan-scsi-bus.sh utility provided
with the operating system or the HBA vendor scripts for scanning the SCSI buses. To avoid
potential le system corruption, EMC requires that you follow the procedure provided in
the vendor documentation for EMC PowerPath for Linux.
233 Scanning for New Partitioned Devices without Rebooting SLES 12 SP3
2. Scan all targets for a host to make its new device known to the middle layer of the Linux
kernel’s SCSI subsystem. At a terminal console prompt, enter
rescan-scsi-bus.sh
Depending on your setup, you might need to run rescan-scsi-bus.sh with optional
parameters. Refer to rescan-scsi-bus.sh --help for details.
3. Verify that the device is seen (such as if the link has a new time stamp) by entering
ls -lrt /dev/dm-*
You can also verify the devices in /dev/disk/by-id by entering
ls -l /dev/disk/by-id/
4. Verify the new device appears in the log by entering
sudo journalctl -r
5. Use a text editor to add a new alias definition for the device in the /etc/multipath.conf
le, such as data_vol3 .
For example, if the UUID is 36006016088d014006e98a7a94a85db11 , make the following
changes:
defaults {
}
multipaths {
multipath {
wwid 36006016088d014006e98a7a94a85db11
alias data_vol3
}
}
6. Create a partition table for the device by entering
fdisk /dev/disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-<UUID>
Replace UUID with the device WWID, such as 36006016088d014006e98a7a94a85db11 .
7. Trigger udev by entering
sudo echo 'add' > /sys/block/DM_DEVICE/uevent
234 Scanning for New Partitioned Devices without Rebooting SLES 12 SP3
For example, to generate the device-mapper devices for the partitions on dm-8 , enter
sudo echo 'add' > /sys/block/dm-8/uevent
8. Create a le system on the device /dev/disk/by-id/dm-uuid-mpath-UUID_partN . De-

pending on your choice for the le system, you may use one of the following commands for
this purpose: mkfs.btrfs mkfs.ext3 , mkfs.ext4 , or mkfs.xfs . Refer to the respective
man pages for details. Replace UUID_partN with the actual UUID and partition number,
such as 36006016088d014006e98a7a94a85db11_part1.
9. Create a label for the new partition by entering the following command:
sudo tune2fs -L LABELNAME /dev/disk/by-id/dm-uuid-UUID_partN
Replace UUID_partN with the actual UUID and partition number, such as
36006016088d014006e98a7a94a85db11_part1. Replace LABELNAME with a label of your
choice.
10. Reconfigure DM-MPIO to let it read the aliases by entering
sudo multipathd -k'reconfigure'
11. Verify that the device is recognized by multipathd by entering
sudo multipath -ll
12. Use a text editor to add a mount entry in the /etc/fstab le.
At this point, the alias you created in a previous step is not yet in the /dev/disk/by-
label directory. Add a mount entry for the /dev/dm-9 path, then change the entry before
the next time you reboot to
LABEL=LABELNAME
13. Create a directory to use as the mount point, then mount the device.
17.14.3 Viewing Multipath I/O Status

Querying the multipath I/O status outputs the current status of the multipath maps.
The multipath -l option displays the current path status as of the last time that the path
checker was run. It does not run the path checker.
235 Viewing Multipath I/O Status SLES 12 SP3

The multipath -ll option runs the path checker, updates the path information, then displays
the current status information. This command always displays the latest information about the
path status.
tux > sudo multipath -ll

3600601607cf30e00184589a37a31d911
[size=127 GB][features="0"][hwhandler="1 emc"]
\_ round-robin 0 [active][first]
\_ 1:0:1:2 sdav 66:240 [ready ][active]
\_ 0:0:1:2 sdr 65:16 [ready ][active]
\_ round-robin 0 [enabled]
\_ 1:0:0:2 sdag 66:0 [ready ][active]
\_ 0:0:0:2 sdc 8:32 [ready ][active]
For each device, it shows the device’s ID, size, features, and hardware handlers.
Paths to the device are automatically grouped into priority groups on device discovery. Only one
priority group is active at a time. For an active/active configuration, all paths are in the same
group. For an active/passive configuration, the passive paths are placed in separate priority
groups.
The following information is displayed for each group:
Scheduling policy used to balance I/O within the group, such as round-robin
Whether the group is active, disabled, or enabled
Whether the group is the rst (highest priority) group
Paths contained within the group
The following information is displayed for each path:
The physical address as HOST:BUS:TARGET:LUN , such as 1:0:1:2
Device node name, such as sda
Major:minor numbers
Status of the device
236 Viewing Multipath I/O Status SLES 12 SP3

17.14.4 Managing I/O in Error Situations
You might need to configure multipathing to queue I/O if all paths fail concurrently by enabling
queue_if_no_path. Otherwise, I/O fails immediately if all paths are gone. In certain scenarios,
where the driver, the HBA, or the fabric experience spurious errors, DM-MPIO should be con-
figured to queue all I/O where those errors lead to a loss of all paths, and never propagate
errors upward.
When you use multipathed devices in a cluster, you might choose to disable queue_if_no_path.
This automatically fails the path instead of queuing the I/O, and escalates the I/O error to cause
a failover of the cluster resources.
Because enabling queue_if_no_path leads to I/O being queued indefinitely unless a path is rein-
stated, ensure that multipathd is running and works for your scenario. Otherwise, I/O might
be stalled indefinitely on the affected multipathed device until reboot or until you manually
return to failover instead of queuing.
To test the scenario:
2. Activate queuing instead of failover for the device I/O by entering
sudo dmsetup message DEVICE_ID 0 queue_if_no_path
Replace the DEVICE_ID with the ID for your device. The 0 value represents the sector and
is used when sector information is not needed.
For example, enter:
sudo dmsetup message 3600601607cf30e00184589a37a31d911 0 queue_if_no_path
3. Return to failover for the device I/O by entering
sudo dmsetup message DEVICE_ID 0 fail_if_no_path
This command immediately causes all queued I/O to fail.

Replace the DEVICE_ID with the ID for your device. For example, enter
sudo dmsetup message 3600601607cf30e00184589a37a31d911 0 fail_if_no_path
To set up queuing I/O for scenarios where all paths fail:
237 Managing I/O in Error Situations SLES 12 SP3

2. Open the /etc/multipath.conf le in a text editor.
3. Uncomment the defaults section and its ending bracket, then add the default_features
setting, as follows:
defaults {
default_features "1 queue_if_no_path"
}
4. After you modify the /etc/multipath.conf le, you must run dracut -f to re-create
the initrd on your system, then reboot for the changes to take effect.
5. When you are ready to return to failover for the device I/O, enter
sudo dmsetup message MAPNAME 0 fail_if_no_path
Replace the MAPNAME with the mapped alias name or the device ID for the device. The 0
value represents the sector and is used when sector information is not needed.
This command immediately causes all queued I/O to fail and propagates the error to the
calling application.
17.14.5 Resolving Stalled I/O

If all paths fail concurrently and I/O is queued and stalled, do the following:
1. Enter the following command at a terminal console prompt:
sudo dmsetup message MAPNAME 0 fail_if_no_path
Replace MAPNAME with the correct device ID or mapped alias name for the device. The 0
value represents the sector and is used when sector information is not needed.
This command immediately causes all queued I/O to fail and propagates the error to the
calling application.
2. Reactivate queuing by entering the following command:
sudo dmsetup message MAPNAME 0 queue_if_no_path
238 Resolving Stalled I/O SLES 12 SP3

17.14.6 Configuring Default Settings for IBM z Systems Devices
Testing of the z Systems device with multipathing has shown that the dev_loss_tmo parameter
should be set to infinity (2147483647), and the fast_io_fail_tmo parameter should be set to
5 seconds. If you are using z Systems devices, modify the /etc/multipath.conf le to specify
the values as follows:
defaults {
dev_loss_tmo 2147483647
fast_io_fail_tmo 5
}
The dev_loss_tmo parameter sets the number of seconds to wait before marking a multipath
link as bad. When the path fails, any current I/O on that failed path fails. The default value
varies according to the device driver being used. To use the driver’s internal timeouts, set the
value to zero (0). It can also be set to "infinity" or 2147483647 which sets it to the max value
of 2147483647 seconds (68 years).
The fast_io_fail_tmo parameter sets the length of time to wait before failing I/O when a
link problem is detected. I/O that reaches the driver fails. If I/O is in a blocked queue, the I/O
does not fail until the dev_loss_tmo time elapses and the queue is unblocked.
If you modify the /etc/multipath.conf le, the changes are not applied until you update
the multipath maps, or until the multipathd daemon is restarted ( systemctl restart mul-
tipathd ).
17.14.7 Using Multipath with NetApp Devices

When using multipath for NetApp devices, we recommend the following settings in the /etc/
multipath.conf le:
Set the default values for the following parameters globally for NetApp devices:
max_fds max
queue_without_daemon no
Set the default values for the following parameters for NetApp devices in the hardware
table:
dev_loss_tmo infinity
fast_io_fail_tmo 5
239 Configuring Default Settings for IBM z Systems Devices SLES 12 SP3
features "3 queue_if_no_path pg_init_retries 50"
17.14.8 Using --noflush with Multipath Devices

The --noflush option should always be used when running on multipath devices.
For example, in scripts where you perform a table reload, you use the --noflush option on
resume to ensure that any outstanding I/O is not ushed, because you need the multipath topol-
ogy information.
load
resume --noflush
17.14.9 SAN Timeout Settings When the Root Device Is

Multipathed
A system with root ( / ) on a multipath device might stall when all paths have failed and are
removed from the system because a dev_loss_tmo timeout is received from the storage sub-
system (such as Fibre Channel storage arrays).
If the system device is configured with multiple paths and the multipath no_path_retry set-
ting is active, you should modify the storage subsystem’s dev_loss_tmo setting accordingly to
ensure that no devices are removed during an all-paths-down scenario. We strongly recommend
that you set the dev_loss_tmo value to be equal to or higher than the no_path_retry setting
from multipath.
The recommended setting for the storage subsystem’s dev_los_tmo is
<dev_loss_tmo> = <no_path_retry> * <polling_interval>
where the following definitions apply for the multipath values:
no_path_retry is the number of retries for multipath I/O until the path is considered to
be lost, and queuing of IO is stopped.
polling_interval is the time in seconds between path checks.
Each of these multipath values should be set from the /etc/multipath.conf configuration
le. For information, see Section 17.6, “Creating or Modifying the /etc/multipath.conf File”.
240 Using --noflush with Multipath Devices SLES 12 SP3

17.15 Troubleshooting MPIO
This section describes some known issues and possible solutions for MPIO.
17.15.1 The System Exits to Emergency Shell at Boot When

Multipath Is Enabled
During boot the system exits into the emergency shell with messages similar to the following:
[ OK ] Listening on multipathd control socket.

Starting Device-Mapper Multipath Device Controller...
[ OK ] Listening on Device-mapper event daemon FIFOs.
Starting Device-mapper event daemon...
Expecting device dev-disk-by\x2duuid-34be48b2\x2dc21...32dd9.device...
Expecting device dev-sda2.device...
[ OK ] Listening on udev Kernel Socket.
[ OK ] Listening on udev Control Socket.
Starting udev Coldplug all Devices...
Expecting device dev-disk-by\x2duuid-1172afe0\x2d63c...5d0a7.device...
Expecting device dev-disk-by\x2duuid-c4a3d1de\x2d4dc...ef77d.device...
[ OK ] Started Create list of required static device nodes ...current kernel.
Starting Create static device nodes in /dev...
[ OK ] Started Collect Read-Ahead Data.
[ OK ] Started Device-mapper event daemon.
[ OK ] Started udev Coldplug all Devices.
Starting udev Wait for Complete Device Initialization...
[ OK ] Started Replay Read-Ahead Data.
Starting Load Kernel Modules...
Starting Remount Root and Kernel File Systems...
[ OK ] Started Create static devices
[ 13.682489] floppy0: no floppy controllers found
[* ] (1 of 4) A start job is running for dev-disk-by\x2du...(7s / 1min 30s)
[* ] (1 of 4) A start job is running for dev-disk-by\x2du...(7s / 1min 30s)
...
Timed out waiting for device dev-disk-by\x2duuid-c4a...cfef77d.device.

[DEPEND] Dependency failed for /opt.
[DEPEND] Dependency failed for Local File Systems.
[DEPEND] Dependency failed for Postfix Mail Transport Agent.
Welcome to emergency shell
Give root password for maintenance
(or press Control-D to continue):
241 Troubleshooting MPIO SLES 12 SP3

This issue occurs in the following situations:
A non-multipath root le system is not blacklisted when multipath is enabled. See Proce-
dure 17.1, “Emergency Shell: Blacklist File Systems”
On a system with a multipath root le system, multipath has been enabled/disabled with-
out rebuilding the initrd . See Procedure 17.2, “Emergency Shell: Rebuild the initrd”.
Network-storage drivers are missing in the initrd on a system with network-attached

storage and multipath enabled.
PROCEDURE 17.1: EMERGENCY SHELL: BLACKLIST FILE SYSTEMS
This x is required if the root le system is not on multipath but multipath is enabled. In
such a setup, multipath tries to set its paths for all devices that are not blacklisted. Since
the device with the root le system is already mounted, it is inaccessible for multipath
and causes it to fail. Fix this issue by configuring multipath correctly by blacklisting the
root device in /etc/multipath.conf :
1. Run multipath -v2 in the emergency shell and identify the device for the root le system.
It will result in an output similar to:
root # multipath -v2

Dec 18 10:10:03 | 3600508b1001030343841423043300400: ignoring map
The string between | and : is the WWID needed for blacklisting.
2. Open /etc/multipath.conf and add the following:
blacklist {
wwid "WWWID"
}
Replace WWWID with the ID you retrieved in the previous step. For more information see
Section 17.8, “Blacklisting Non-Multipath Devices”.
3. Exit the emergency shell and reboot the server by pressing Ctrl –D .
242 The System Exits to Emergency Shell at Boot When Multipath Is Enabled SLES 12 SP3
PROCEDURE 17.2: EMERGENCY SHELL: REBUILD THE initrd
This x is required if the multipath status (enabled or disabled) differs between initrd
and system. To x this, rebuild the initrd :
1. If multipath has been enabled in the system, rebuild the initrd with multipath support with
this command:
dracut --force --add multipath
In case Multipath has been disabled in the system, rebuild the initrd with Multipath support
with this command:
dracut --force -o multipath
PROCEDURE 17.3: EMERGENCY SHELL: REBUILD THE initrd
This x is required if the initrd does not contain drivers to access network attached storage.
This may, for example, be the case when the system was installed without multipath or
when the respective hardware was added or replaced.
1. Add the required driver(s) to the variable force_drivers in the le /etc/dracut.con-
f.d/01-dist.conf . For example, if your system contains a RAID controller accessed by
the hpsa driver and multipathed devices connected to a QLogic controller accessed by
the driver qla23xx, this entry would look like:
force_drivers+="hpsa qla23xx"
2. Rebuild the initrd using the following command:
dracut -f --add-multipath
3. To prevent the system from booting into emergency mode if attaching the network storage
fails, it is recommended to add the mount option _netdev to the respective entries in
/etc/fstab .
243 The System Exits to Emergency Shell at Boot When Multipath Is Enabled SLES 12 SP3
17.15.2 PRIO Settings for Individual Devices Fail After Upgrading to
Multipath 0.4.9 or Later
Multipath Tools from version 0.4.9 onward uses the prio setting in the defaults{} or de-
vices{} section of the /etc/multipath.conf le. It silently ignores the keyword prio when
it is specified for an individual multipath definition in the multipaths{) section.
Multipath Tools 0.4.8 allowed the prio setting in the individual multipath definition in the
multipaths{) section to override the prio settings in the defaults{} or devices{} section.
17.15.3 PRIO Settings with Arguments Fail After Upgrading to

multipath-tools-0.4.9 or Later
When you upgrade from multipath-tools-0.4.8 to multipath-tools-0.4.9 , the prio set-
tings in the /etc/multipath.conf le are broken for prioritizers that require an argument. In
multipath-tools-0.4.9, the prio keyword is used to specify the prioritizer, and the prio_args
keyword is used to specify the argument for prioritizers that require an argument. Previously,
both the prioritizer and its argument were specified on the same prio line.
For example, in multipath-tools-0.4.8, the following line was used to specify a prioritizer and
its arguments on the same line.
prio "weightedpath hbtl [1,3]:.:.+:.+ 260 [0,2]:.:.+:.+ 20"
After upgrading to multipath-tools-0.4.9 or later, the command causes an error. The message
is similar to the following:
<Month day hh:mm:ss> | Prioritizer 'weightedpath hbtl [1,3]:.:.+:.+ 260

[0,2]:.:.+:.+ 20' not found in /lib64/multipath
To resolve this problem, use a text editor to modify the prio line in the /etc/multipath.conf
le. Create two lines with the prioritizer specified on the prio line, and the prioritizer argument
specified on the prio_args line below it:
prio "weightedpath"
prio_args "hbtl [1,3]:.:.+:.+ 260 [0,2]:.:.+:.+ 20"
Restart the multipathd daemon for the changes to become active by running sudo systemctl
restart multipathd .
PRIO Settings for Individual Devices Fail After Upgrading to Multipath 0.4.9 or Later SLES
244 12 SP3
17.15.4 Technical Information Documents
For information about troubleshooting multipath I/O issues on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server,
see the following Technical Information Documents (TIDs) in the SUSE Knowledgebase:
Using LVM on local and SAN attached devices (http://www.suse.com/support/kb/doc.php?

id=3617600)
Using LVM on Multipath (DM MPIO) Devices (http://www.suse.com/support/kb/doc.php?

id=7007498)
HOWTO: Add, Resize and Remove LUN without restarting SLES (https://www.suse.com/support/kb/
doc.php?id=7009660)
245 Technical Information Documents SLES 12 SP3

18 Managing Access Control Lists over NFSv4
There is no single standard for Access Control Lists (ACLs) in Linux beyond the simple read,
write, and execute ( rwx ) ags for user, group, and others ( ugo ). One option for finer control is
the Draft POSIX ACLs, which were never formally standardized by POSIX. Another is the NFSv4
ACLs, which were designed to be part of the NFSv4 network le system with the goal of making
something that provided reasonable compatibility between POSIX systems on Linux and WIN32
systems on Microsoft Windows.
NFSv4 ACLs are not sufficient to correctly implement Draft POSIX ACLs so no attempt has been
made to map ACL accesses on an NFSv4 client (such as using setfacl ).
When using NFSv4, Draft POSIX ACLs cannot be used even in emulation and NFSv4 ACLs need
to be used directly; that means while setfacl can work on NFSv3, it cannot work on NFSv4.
To allow NFSv4 ACLs to be used on an NFSv4 le system, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server provides
the nfs4-acl-tools package, which contains the following:
nfs4-getfacl
nfs4-setfacl
nfs4-editacl
These operate in a generally similar way to getfacl and setfacl for examining and modifying
NFSv4 ACLs. These commands are effective only if the le system on the NFS server provides
full support for NFSv4 ACLs. Any limitation imposed by the server will affect programs running
on the client in that some particular combinations of Access Control Entries (ACEs) might not
be possible.
It is not supported to mount NFS volumes locally on the exporting NFS server.
Additional Information
For information, see Introduction to NFSv4 ACLs at http://wiki.linux-nfs.org/wiki/in-
dex.php/ACLs#Introduction_to_NFSv4_ACLs .

A Documentation Updates
This chapter lists content changes for this document.

This manual was updated on the following dates:
Section A.1, “June 2018”
Section A.2, “December 2017 (Maintenance Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3)”
Section A.3, “September 2017 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3)”
Section A.4, “April 2017 (Maintenance Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2)”
Section A.5, “November 2016 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2)”
Section A.6, “December 2015 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1)”
Section A.7, “February 2015 (Documentation Maintenance Update)”
Section A.8, “October 2014 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12)”
A.1 June 2018

General
Numerous small fixes and additions to the documentation, based on technical feed-
back.
Removed all references to the faillog package, which is no longer shipped (https://
bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=710788 ).
Part IV, “Network Storage”
Added Chapter 16, NVMe over Fabric.
Corrected recommended value for dev_loss_tmo for zfcp multipathing on IBM z Sys-
tems (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1091022 ).
247 June 2018 SLES 12 SP3

A.2 December 2017 (Maintenance Release of SUSE
Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3)
General
back.
General Updates
Turned the note about unpartitioned PVs into warning with less restrictive
content in Section 5.2, “Creating Volume Groups” (Fate #324990), https://bugzil-
la.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1086896 ).
Bugfixes
Avoid using wiper.sh on Btrfs in Section 1.11.2, “Freeing Unused File System Blocks”
(https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1066537 ).
On z Systems, /boot must not be on RAID or LVM, see Book “Deployment Guide”,
Chapter 6 “Installation with YaST”, Section 6.11 “Suggested Partitioning”. (https://bugzil-
A.3 September 2017 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux

Enterprise Server 12 SP3)
General
back.
Chapter 1, Overview of File Systems in Linux
December 2017 (Maintenance Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3) SLES 12
248 SP3
In Section 1.11.1.2, “Disk Space Consumed by Log, Crash, and Cache Files”, added /var/
lib/systemd/coredump to the list of directories that may ll up the le system (Doc
Comment #30347).
Chapter 14, Mass Storage over IP Networks: iSCSI
Corrected link to the Open-iSCSI Project in Section 14.7, “Additional Information” (Doc

Comment #31683).
Chapter 17, Managing Multipath I/O for Devices
In Section 17.7, “Configuring Default Policies for Polling, Queuing, and Failback”, mentioned
that tur is the default path_checker for multipath (Fate #320804).
In Section 17.4, “Multipath Management Tools”, corrected the name of the Multiple
Devices Administration command line tool (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-
gi?id=1047918 ).
Added section Section 17.6.5, “Generating a WWID” and avoid MPIO blacklisting by de-
vice node (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1032517 ).
In Section 17.10.2.1, “Understanding Priority Groups and Attributes”, added missing multi-

path option followover (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1052347 ).
A.4 April 2017 (Maintenance Release of SUSE Linux

Added a warning about regular expressions in multipath.conf (https://bugzil-

Removed sections about boot.multipath and LVM2 with MPIO (https://bugzil-

Added information about LVM for scanning multipath devices.
249 April 2017 (Maintenance Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2) SLES 12 SP3
A.5 November 2016 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux
General
The e-mail address for documentation feedback has changed to doc-

team@suse.com .
The documentation for Docker has been enhanced and renamed to Docker Guide.
General Changes to this Guide
Added Chapter 4, Multi-tier Caching for Block Device Operations.
Added a warning about the support status of root le system conversions to Sec-
tion 1.2.3, “Migration from Ext and ReiserFS File Systems to Btrfs” (Fate #320870).
Fixed values for nullifying a quota in Section 1.2.5, “Btrfs Quota Support for Subvolumes”
(Doc Comment #30027).
Added Section 1.2.6, “Btrfs send/receive” (Fate #313516).
Chapter 5, LVM Configuration
Added Section 5.8.3, “Using LVM Cache Volumes” (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-

gi?id=948193 ).
Replaced 'client' with 'initiator' to match the updated GUI in Section 14.3, “Configuring
iSCSI Initiator” (Fate #319293).
Bugfixes
Revised statement on software RAID for cluster le systems, which can now be set
up using Cluster MD (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=990820 ).
Removed references to multipath.conf templates which are no longer

shipped with the multipath-tools package (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-
gi?id=989206 ).
250 November 2016 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2) SLES 12 SP3
Replaced wrong title 'iSCSI LIO Target' with 'iSCSI Initiator' in Section 14.3.1.1, “Con-
figuring the iSCSI Initiator” (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=968898 ).
Added a sentence about the need for different passwords for incoming and outgoing
authentication in Section 14.2.2, “Configuring Authentication for Discovery of iSCSI LIO Tar-
gets and Initiators” (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=977173 ).
Added Section 5.8.3, “Using LVM Cache Volumes” (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-

gi?id=948193 ).
Fixed statements about Ext le systems online/offline resizing capabilities (https://
Added note about where to place /boot for an LVM root le system (https://bugzil-
Added missing entry for NFSv4 (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-

gi?id=998772 ).
A.6 December 2015 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux

General
Book “Subscription Management Tool for SLES 12 SP3” is now part of the documentation
for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Add-ons provided by SUSE have been renamed as modules and extensions. The man-
uals have been updated to reflect this change.
back.
The registration service has been changed from Novell Customer Center to SUSE
Customer Center.
In YaST, you will now reach Network Settings via the System group. Network Devices
is gone (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=867809 ).
251 December 2015 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1) SLES 12 SP3
Mentioned that subvolumes with the option no copy on write for /var/lib/
mariadb , /var/lib/pgsql , and /var/lib/libvirt/images are created by default
to avoid extensive fragmenting with Btrfs.
Mentioned compression with Btrfs and its implications, see Section 1.2.2.1, “Mounting
Compressed Btrfs File Systems” (Fate #316463).
Added Section 1.11.2, “Freeing Unused File System Blocks” (https://bugzil-

Added a tip on the option --resizefs for the commands lvextend , lvresize ,
and lvreduce to Section 5.8.1, “Resizing a Logical Volume with Commands”.
Chapter 7, Software RAID Configuration
Added Section 7.3.1, “Recovery after Failing Disk is Back Again” (Fate #316381).
Chapter 13, iSNS for Linux
Updated commands to restart iSCSI service and target in Section 13.3.2, “Adding iSCSI
Nodes to a Discovery Domain” (Fate #317929).
Fixed a wrong command in Section 17.14.2, “Scanning for New Partitioned Devices without
Rebooting” (Doc Comment #27121).
Bugfixes
Added Section 1.11.2, “Freeing Unused File System Blocks” (https://bugzil-

/var/lib/open-iscsi moved to /etc/iscsi (https://bugzil-

KIWI build fails because of noudevsync (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-

gi?id=943298 ).
VM volume_list description error (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-

gi?id=951321 ).
252 December 2015 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP1) SLES 12 SP3
Removed hint on restriction of 256 logical volumes (only applies to lvm1) (https://
Replaced “memory space” with “storage space” (https://bugzil-

Added a tip on the option --resizefs for LVM resizing commands (https://bugzil-
lvmetad is Enabled by Default on SLE 12 SP1 (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-

gi?id=948178 ).
Corrected LVM introduction (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=947949 ).
Removed a duplicated paragraph on thinly provisioned LVM (https://bugzil-

/boot may reside on RAID 1 in Chapter 8, Configuring Software RAID for the Root Partition
Replaced Login with Connect in Section 14.3.1.3, “Discovering iSCSI Targets Manually”
use_lvmetad , Change Does not Describe Required Target Value (https://bugzil-

A.7 February 2015 (Documentation Maintenance

Update)
General
Completely restructured the manual by introducing parts.
Completely revised the complete guide.
Shortened the majority of procedures.
The cciss driver has been replaced with the hpsa driver. Changed all affected
paragraphs accordingly (Fate #316683).
253 February 2015 (Documentation Maintenance Update) SLES 12 SP3

Added Section 1.2.2, “The Root File System Setup on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server”.
Added Section 1.2.5, “Btrfs Quota Support for Subvolumes” (Fate #315690).
Added Section 1.2.7, “Data Deduplication Support” (Fate #316317).
Added ReiserFs to the list of le systems that can be converted to Btrfs (Fate
#313096).
Added a note on the new XFS on-disk format to Section 1.3.3, “Preallocation to Avoid File
System Fragmentation” (Fate #317042).
Added Section 1.6, “Ext4”.
Added a note about the support status of ReiserFs to Section 1.7, “ReiserFS” (Fate
#313799).
Chapter 2, Resizing File Systems
Added Section 2.1, “Use Cases”.
Added Section 2.3, “Changing the Size of a Btrfs File System” (Fate #310777).
Added Section 2.4, “Changing the Size of an XFS File System”.
Updated all parts dealing with the YaST Partitioner, because of a new design and
workflow.
Added instructions on how to list physical volumes used by logical volumes to Sec-
tion 5.5, “Resizing an Existing Volume Group” (Fate #316074).
Added Section 5.8.2, “Dynamic Aggregation of LVM Metadata via lvmetad” (Fate #314556).
Chapter 7, Software RAID Configuration
Updated all parts dealing with the YaST Partitioner, because of a new design and
workflow.
Added Section 7.2.1, “RAID Names” (Fate #315590).
Chapter 9, Creating Software RAID 10 Devices
254 February 2015 (Documentation Maintenance Update) SLES 12 SP3

Removed RAID 6 from this chapter, since setting up RAID 6 arrays is now supported
by the YaST Partitioner.
Added Section 9.2, “Creating a Complex RAID 10”.
Chapter 13, iSNS for Linux
Removed all discovery domain set content, since this is no longer supported by open-
isns.
Replaced iSCSI Target with iSCSI LIO Target.
Restructured the whole chapter.
Removed prio_callout from Section 17.10.2, “Configuring Failover Priorities”, since it

is no longer supported.
Added Section 17.14, “Best Practice”.
Bugfixes
Replace ReiserFS by Ext3 for Shrinking LV (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-

gi?id=884287 ).
System Drops Into Emergency Shell After Enabling Multipath (https://bugzil-

la.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=889317/ ).
There is no iSCSI Target in the Package List (https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.c-

gi?id=905239 ).
A.8 October 2014 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux

Enterprise Server 12)
General
Removed all KDE documentation and references because KDE is no longer shipped.
Removed all references to SuSEconfig, which is no longer supported (Fate #100011).
255 October 2014 (Initial Release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12) SLES 12 SP3
Move from System V init to systemd (Fate #310421). Updated affected parts of the
documentation.
YaST Runlevel Editor has changed to Services Manager (Fate #312568). Updated
affected parts of the documentation.
Removed all references to ISDN support, as ISDN support has been removed (Fate
#314594).
Removed all references to the YaST DSL module as it is no longer shipped (Fate
#316264).
Removed all references to the YaST Modem module as it is no longer shipped (Fate
#316264).
Btrfs has become the default le system for the root partition (Fate #315901). Up-
dated affected parts of the documentation.
The dmesg now provides human-readable time stamps in ctime() -like format (Fate
#316056). Updated affected parts of the documentation.
syslog and syslog-ng have been replaced by rsyslog (Fate #316175). Updated affected
parts of the documentation.
MariaDB is now shipped as the relational database instead of MySQL (Fate #313595).
Updated affected parts of the documentation.
SUSE-related products are no longer available from http://download.novell.com but

from http://download.suse.com . Adjusted links accordingly.
Novell Customer Center has been replaced with SUSE Customer Center. Updated
affected parts of the documentation.
/var/run is mounted as tmpfs (Fate #303793). Updated affected parts of the doc-
umentation.
The following architectures are no longer supported: IA64 and x86. Updated affected
parts of the documentation.
The traditional method for setting up the network with ifconfig has been replaced
by wicked . Updated affected parts of the documentation.
A lot of networking commands are deprecated and have been replaced by newer
commands (usually ip ). Updated affected parts of the documentation.
arp : ip neighbor
ifconfig : ip addr , ip link
iptunnel : ip tunnel
iwconfig : iw
nameif : ip link , ifrename
netstat : ss , ip route , ip -s link , ip maddr
route : ip route
back.
B GNU Licenses
formats that can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for
This appendix contains the GNU Free Docu- which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available, and the machine-generat-
ed HTML, PostScript or PDF produced by some word processors for output purposes only.
mentation License version 1.2. The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself, plus such following pages as
are needed to hold, legibly, the material this License requires to appear in the title page. For
works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title Page" means the text near the
GNU Free Documentation License most prominent appearance of the work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.
A section "Entitled XYZ" means a named subunit of the Document whose title either is precisely
Copyright (C) 2000, 2001, 2002 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, XYZ or contains XYZ in parentheses following text that translates XYZ in another language.
Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA. Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies (Here XYZ stands for a specific section name mentioned below, such as "Acknowledgements",
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed. "Dedications", "Endorsements", or "History".) To "Preserve the Title" of such a section when
you modify the Document means that it remains a section "Entitled XYZ" according to this
definition.
0. PREAMBLE
The Document may include Warranty Disclaimers next to the notice which states that this
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We have designed this License to use it for manuals for free software, because free software commercially, provided that this License, the copyright notices, and the license notice saying
needs free documentation: a free program should come with manuals providing the same this License applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you add no other
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A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion must also clearly and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The front cover
of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language. must present the full title with all words of the title equally prominent and visible. You may
add other material on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as
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long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these conditions, can be treated
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within that overall subject. (Thus, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to t legibly, you should put the
Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter rst ones listed (as many as t reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto
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The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are designated, as being must either include a machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or
those of Invariant Sections, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this state in or with each Opaque copy a computer-network location from which the general net-
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does not identify any Invariant Sections then there are none. must take reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque copies in quanti-
ty, to ensure that this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible at the stated location until
The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are listed, as Front-Cover Texts or
at least one year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your
Back-Cover Texts, in the notice that says that the Document is released under this License. A
agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.
Front-Cover Text may be at most 5 words, and a Back-Cover Text may be at most 25 words.
It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of the Document well before
A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy, represented in a for-
redistributing any large number of copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an
mat whose specification is available to the general public, that is suitable for revising the doc-
updated version of the Document.
ument straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed of pixels) generic
paint programs or (for drawings) some widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable
for input to text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats suitable for
input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise Transparent le format whose markup,
or absence of markup, has been arranged to thwart or discourage subsequent modification
by readers is not Transparent. An image format is not Transparent if used for any substantial
amount of text. A copy that is not "Transparent" is called "Opaque".
Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain ASCII without markup, Tex-
info input format, LaTeX input format, SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and stan-
dard-conforming simple HTML, PostScript or PDF designed for human modification. Examples
of transparent image formats include PNG, XCF and JPG. Opaque formats include proprietary
258 SLES 12 SP3

The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use
4. MODIFICATIONS
their names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.
You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the conditions of
sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release the Modified Version under precisely this 5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
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and modification of the Modified Version to whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you You may combine the Document with other documents released under this License, under
must do these things in the Modified Version: the terms defined in section 4 above for modified versions, provided that you include in the
combination all of the Invariant Sections of all of the original documents, unmodified, and
A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title distinct from that of the
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L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered in their text and 8. TRANSLATION
in their titles. Section numbers or the equivalent are not considered part of the
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M. Delete any section Entitled "Endorsements". Such a section may not be included Document under the terms of section 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires
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actual title.
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9. TERMINATION
or that the text has been approved by an organization as the authoritative definition of a
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly pro-
standard.
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259 SLES 12 SP3

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Document does not specify a version number of this License, you may choose any version ever
published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation.
ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents
Copyright (c) YEAR YOUR NAME.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute
and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free
Documentation License, Version 1.2
or any later version published by the Free
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A copy of the license is included in the
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If you have Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts and Back-Cover Texts, replace the
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with the Invariant Sections being LIST

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If you have Invariant Sections without Cover Texts, or some other combination of the three,
merge those two alternatives to suit the situation.
If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we recommend releasing
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Storage Administration

Publication Date: June 13, 2018

About This Guide xii

I FILE SYSTEMS AND MOUNTING 1

1 Overview of File Systems in Linux 2

1.8 Other Supported File Systems 25

1.9 Large File Support in Linux 26

1.10 Linux Kernel Storage Limitations 28

iii Storage Administration Guide

1.12 Additional Information 31

2 Resizing File Systems 32

2.2 Guidelines for Resizing 32

2.3 Changing the Size of a Btrfs File System 34

2.4 Changing the Size of an XFS File System 35

2.5 Changing the Size of an Ext2, Ext3, or Ext4 File System 36

2.6 Changing the Size of a Reiser File System 37

3 Using UUIDs to Mount Devices 38

3.2 Understanding UUIDs 38

3.3 Additional Information 39

4 Multi-tier Caching for Block Device Operations 40

4.2 Caching Modes 41

iv Storage Administration Guide

5.2 Creating Volume Groups 51

5.3 Creating Logical Volumes 54

5.4 Automatically Activating Non-Root LVM Volume Groups 60

5.5 Resizing an Existing Volume Group 61

5.6 Resizing a Logical Volume 62

5.7 Deleting a Volume Group or a Logical Volume 64

5.8 Using LVM Commands 65

5.9 Tagging LVM2 Storage Objects 72

6 LVM Volume Snapshots 79

6.2 Creating Linux Snapshots with LVM 81

6.3 Monitoring a Snapshot 81

6.4 Deleting Linux Snapshots 82

6.5 Using Snapshots for Virtual Machines on a Virtual Host 82

v Storage Administration Guide

7 Software RAID Configuration 88

7.2 Soft RAID Configuration with YaST 90

7.3 Troubleshooting Software RAIDs 94

7.4 For More Information 95

8 Configuring Software RAID for the Root Partition 96

9 Creating Software RAID 10 Devices 101

9.2 Creating a Complex RAID 10 106

10 Creating a Degraded RAID Array 116

11 Resizing Software RAID Arrays with mdadm 118

vi Storage Administration Guide

12 Storage Enclosure LED Utilities for MD Software

12.2 The Storage Enclosure LED Control Application 129

12.3 Additional Information 134

IV NETWORK STORAGE 135

13 iSNS for Linux 136

13.2 Installing iSNS Server for Linux 138

13.3 Configuring iSNS Discovery Domains 140

13.4 Starting the iSNS Service 143

13.5 For More Information 143

14 Mass Storage over IP Networks: iSCSI 144

14.2 Setting Up an iSCSI LIO Target Server 146

vii Storage Administration Guide

14.4 Using iSCSI Disks when Installing 161

14.5 Troubleshooting iSCSI 161

14.6 iSCSI LIO Target Terminology 163

14.7 Additional Information 165

15 Fibre Channel Storage over Ethernet Networks:

15.2 Installing FCoE and the YaST FCoE Client 168